I'd use an icon for expressing rage, but none of them come CLOSE.

[tzikeh]

Utah Governor Signs Controversial Law Charging Women and Girls Who Miscarry With Murder

I don't know how I missed that the bill, that I had heard about and thought, "this is so fucked-up that there's no way even Utah will pass it," was signed into law this week. kirbyfest just posted this.

First of all, this *absolutely* is unconstitutional. If abortion is legal, miscarriage cannot be murder. Period. Someone is going to take this to the courts, all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.

In the meantime, there must be something we can do to harm the state of Utah (and really, I'm sorry Utah-ans, as much as I know that has to suck, and if you hate me for this, that's okay, but you are now collateral damage). Writing letters to the governor saying "You've just lost my tourism dollars" will do nothing. What can we DO, right now, to hurt the state where it counts: money. Budget. Income. I want ideas. Let's go. If you can think of another way to hurt Utah that doesn't have anything to do with money, that's fine too.

Comments

[kirbyfest.livejournal.com]

I think the only thing that might save us, given the current makeup of the Supremes, is that it seems to be a badly-written law. I'll need to look around for legal writing on this, but I'd like to see how other types of cases define (in a court sense) "intentional and knowing."

For instance: if I were hypothetically pregnant, and I had Subway for lunch, and the lunchmeat had lysteria, and I miscarried, would I be liable? I know lunchmeat isn't good for pregnant women (unless you heat it to steaming, which-- ew), so we've got the "knowing." But would it be "intentional?"

More likely: if I were hypothetically pregnant by my hypothetically abusive husband, and didn't leave him, and his abuse caused a miscarriage, would I be guilty of murder while his abusive ass probably barely gets noticed? I "know" he's abusive, but the miscarriage might not be "intentional."

So what do the cops do?

They do what they do-- some cops let it go. The crazy ones don't. And if the women who had the miscarriage is a woman of color and/or of lower income and/or someone that the cop/doctor/reporting agency just plain doesn't like, she gets prosecuted. While my middle-class white ass probably wouldn't.

This law (assuming you consider it such; I consider it a vile piece of crap) will be impossible to administer with any kind of even-handedness. That's what happens when they are CRAZY LAWS made by crazy bigots who hate women.

Sorry for ranting in your journal, T.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Rant away. We know this law is only going to be abused anyhow.