Miscarriage Murder New Bill in Utah Could Mean a Life Sentence for Women Who Miscarry

I can see the headlines now. “Woman gets 15 to Life for Tripping over Tricycle.” While it hasn't happened yet if Utah law makers have their way you may soon be seeing such headlines before too very long. Both the Utah house and Senate recently passed a law for women to miscarry if that miscarriage could be construed as coming about due to reckless behavior.

This new miscarriage bill was drawn up and passed by the Utah legislature due to an incident where a 17 year old girl who was in her 7th month of pregnancy paid a man $150.00 to beat her up in the hope of miscarrying. The baby survived and was later put up for adoption. The man was convicted but, when when charges were leveled against the young woman the case had to dropped because Utah had no law on its books making it a crime for a mother to miscarry either accidentally or intentionally.

The primarily Mormon state had been waiting for just such a chance to rectify this situation and others where women sought to terminate pregnancies without a doctors care. This new bill however, goes well beyond the supposed goal of the legislation however. The wording of this bill is such that a woman who has a glass of wine before she discovers she is pregnant and then miscarries can be sentenced to life in prison for murder. Women can also be charged with this horrible crime for not wearing seat belts and having an accident, for slipping on an icy sidewalk, and even for falling down stairs if prosecutors decide that such accidents show reckless behavior.

It is hard enough to imagine the pain a woman who has wanted a baby for years feels when she has an accident that may result in a miscarriage without the possibility of having to deal with a trial and possible conviction for losing her child.

One of the main worries of women's right groups is the woman who may find herself in an abusive relationship and unable to get away without risking her life. If a woman is in this situation and her husband beats her and she miscarries she can be tried and convicted and sentence to prison.

Ironically, the bill does exempt those women who miscarry because they fail to follow doctors advice or refuse a C section. It also carries no punitive measures for those who assist a woman or cause her to have an illegal abortion.

This is a law that by its very nature is aimed at punishing woman who not only choose to end an unwanted pregnancies but those who, due to an accident may lose a much wanted child. If there was ever a law in modern day society aimed at punishing women simply because they are women, this law is it.

Pregnancy should be something a woman looks forward to with joy and anticipation not with fear. This law is bound to make pregnant women very afraid of simply living their lives.