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VA Legislative Sentry: Have a Miscarriage, Go to JAIL? (BARF)
state.va.gov ^ | 6 Jan | DailyKOS

Posted on 01/11/2005 5:19:30 AM PST by Just Dan

(Excerpt from the Daily P.O.S)

Imagine the following scenario. You are at home alone at 8:00 on a Friday night. You are 8 weeks pregnant. All of a sudden, you begin to experience heavy cramping and bleeding. You realize with shock and sadness that you are probably experiencing a miscarriage. You are overwhelmed with grief and surprised by the intensity of physical pain involved. When your partner comes home, you break the sad news to him. Over the next few hours, you suffer pain, cramping, and intermittent bleeding. Exhausted, you finally fall asleep in your partner's arms around 4 AM. You sleep until noon.

Guess what? You just earned yourself up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. Why? Because you failed to call the cops and report your miscarriage within 12 hours.

True? Not yet. But if Delegate John Cosgrove (R-78) has his way, HB1677 will become law in a few short months, and this scenario will be reality for many women in Virginia. Incredulous? Outraged? Read on below the jump for more information on this odious bill.

(CONTINUE).....

(Excerpt) Read more at leg1.state.va.us ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: abortion; clownsinrichmond; cosgrove; hb1677; vageneralassembly
Hey Guys, I got hit with this last night from a lib friend. Any Insight? BTW, the article that has the story is on the Daily K O S.

I was attempting to rebut, however I came off a little harsh. Id like to get some better facts about this bill

Thanks,

Just Dan :-)

1 posted on 01/11/2005 5:19:31 AM PST by Just Dan
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To: Just Dan

"Delegate John Cosgrove emailed Maura, the author of the original alert: "This bill was requested by the Chesapeake Police Department in its legislative package due to instances of full term babies who were abandoned shortly after birth. These poor children died horrible deaths. ... The requirement for the twelve hour notification timeframe comes from the method that a coroner would use to determine if the child had been born alive or dead. ... My bill in no way intends that a woman who suffers a miscarriage should be charged for not notifying authorities. The bill in no way mentions miscarriages, only deliveries. However, after discussing the bill again with our legislative services lawyers, I have decided to include language that will define the bill to apply only to those babies that are claimed to have been stillborn and that are abandoned as stated above." "

http://www.livejournal.com/users/bentleywg/ Center of page


2 posted on 01/11/2005 5:23:17 AM PST by OpusatFR
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To: Just Dan
"When your partner comes home, you break the sad news to him."

Partner? Are they at a square dance?

3 posted on 01/11/2005 5:26:26 AM PST by Meldrim
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To: Just Dan

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1316409/posts


A discussion of this at Free Republic from a few days ago.


We guessed that he had the legal and medical definitions of "fetal death" mixed up.
The post above mine shows that was apparently so.


4 posted on 01/11/2005 5:27:53 AM PST by mrsmith
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To: OpusatFR

This could really be used for great evil against women.

NOT a good idea.

WHy not go after the abortionists instead. We KNOW those babies are being killed. PLenty of bleeding in those abortion mills. And bodies being incinerated out back.


5 posted on 01/11/2005 5:28:58 AM PST by Conservatrix ("He's a barf." --- Sophia T., Age 4, on John Sawed-Off Baldrick "I have a cunning plan" Kerry)
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To: OpusatFR

Once again, good intentions create stupid legislation. These goof balls have too much time on their hands and think they need to constantly make more laws to demonstrate their desire to "help" us. Virginia has some of the most ridiculous laws in the nation.


6 posted on 01/11/2005 5:31:23 AM PST by Time is now (We'll live to see it......Does anyone see it yet?....)
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To: mrsmith

Wow thanks guys..

Hmm.. maybe I need to go to FR Search button School


7 posted on 01/11/2005 5:31:23 AM PST by Just Dan (Close only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades.)
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To: Just Dan; OpusatFR; SilentServiceCPO
Heck no, we were just guessing.

OpusatFR's reply on this thread is gold.

8 posted on 01/11/2005 5:34:23 AM PST by mrsmith
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To: Meldrim

I found that term offensive too.


9 posted on 01/11/2005 5:34:45 AM PST by secret garden (Go Spurs Go!)
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To: Conservatrix

Chesapeake had several horrendous baby abandonment cases the past year. One full-term infant was left exposed in a wooded area in below freezing temps. Pretty baby froze to death. The wooded area was in a housing development. No one has been found yet.

I haven't made up my mind on this bill. I think everyone should read the bill itself and determine its merits. Everything can be used for good or ill. That's axiomatic.

But, before the agendas take hold, the problem needs to be addressed without the typical emotionalism prevalent in all discussions today.

This bill is one suggestion. Now, others can come forth.

Emotionalism is so abjectly damaging to any solution.


10 posted on 01/11/2005 5:35:54 AM PST by OpusatFR
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To: Just Dan

A person who would feel the pain of miscarriage tell her husband is trying to die herself. When you feel something like this only a fool would go to sleep on it.

Most women who have babies born stillborn or even at full term without telling anyone are frightened children themselves.They seldom have a partner to tell , they are usually alone and scared to death, or their partner is as young and frightened as they. Chesapeake Va. isnt that large a community that I could imagine they have so many dead babies showing up that they need this law. My guess is they had one case they lost because the coronoer couldnt establish the cause of death.


11 posted on 01/11/2005 5:37:18 AM PST by sgtbono2002
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To: Just Dan

This is why the whole abortion thing does not belong in the criminal justice system. It is totally unenforceable. Will just put the dims in charge for decades.


12 posted on 01/11/2005 5:38:37 AM PST by tkathy (Ban all religious head garb.)
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To: Just Dan

What happened to calling your doctor or going to the ER if you believe you are experiencing a miscarriage???


13 posted on 01/11/2005 6:08:58 AM PST by sweet_diane ("Will I dance for you Jesus? Or in awe of You be still? I can only imagine..I can only imagine.")
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To: sgtbono2002

Oh! How easily does the honey of sentimentality drip from your keyboard.

"Frightened children","alone and scared to death",etc.

People with your mindset would rather spend a million dollars to save a dog in a frozen pond than condemn the disposal of a new born human being into a dumpster.

Your last paragraph is the most self revealing...it exposes your view upon the value of life and that the death of one child is insufficient to enact a law that protects newly birthed children. How arrogant.


14 posted on 01/11/2005 6:43:49 AM PST by ijcr (Age and treachery will always overcome youth and ability.)
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To: Just Dan
Abortion exists today because of many layers of deception. This article is just another example.

Just a few months ago I read about the abortion promoters trying to get laws changed in some South American country to allow abortion. They were claiming that changing the laws would result in fewer abortions (because supposedly many back-alley ones were occurring).

Other lies:

*A "fetus" is not yet human.

*A "fetus" does not feel pain.

*An unwanted child would be better off dead than born into a world where it is unloved.

*If a child might have serious health problems or handicaps, abortion is more merciful and compassionate.

*The world is in danger of overpopulation.

*Emergency contraception prevents pregnancy and is not abort-efficient. (In fact even birth control pills are abort-efficient - something even pro-life gynecologists are not always aware of.)

The complaints in this article are the typical scaremongering abortionists use to guard their moneymaking, serial-killing industry.
15 posted on 01/11/2005 7:19:17 AM PST by unlearner
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To: ijcr

Yeah youre right , I am sorry, Just take this 15 uear old girl and her 16 year old boyfriend and lets hang them. Lets put them in jail with real criminals so they can learn to kill better. I agree hang em high.


16 posted on 01/11/2005 3:34:01 PM PST by sgtbono2002
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To: sgtbono2002

Dripping sarcasm is not your strong point and makes your point of view weaker.

The abandonment of a new born baby is an unnatural act and as
you correctly stated a premeditated killing.


17 posted on 01/11/2005 5:40:12 PM PST by ijcr (Age and treachery will always overcome youth and ability.)
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To: mrsmith
Del. Cosgrove has since withdrawn the Bill from consideration in this session. He received a flood of emails (over 40,000) as news of this legislative nightmare spread across the web. His intention, and it is an honorable one, was to make it a crime to give birth to a stillborn baby while not attended to by a medical professional and fail to report it within twelve hours.

What he is trying to prevent is the stereotypical young, scared, girl who gives birth, abandons the baby to die, and later claims that it was born dead. As of now, there is no way to prosecute them, as the coroner must examine the baby within twelve hours to determine if it was born alive or not.

Due to poor drafting of this bill, what came out was that you had to report all miscarriages or face prosecution (due to the definition of "fetal death" in VA). He now sees the error of his ways and is going to draft a bill that makes sense for submission in the next session.

18 posted on 01/11/2005 5:45:33 PM PST by SilentServiceCPO
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To: ijcr

I agree its much better to allow a properly licensed physician to abort the child than it is to abandon it.

I have never been an advocate of anyone abandoning a newborn baby, but I can see how it sometimes happens.

When kids are frightened and they know about society's legal abortions its hard sometimes for them to see the difference between what they are doing and what abortion doctors are doing.

Lets both hope that they leave the child with a hospital or with the Police and Fire departments rather than abandon them in a dumpster.


19 posted on 01/12/2005 5:07:14 AM PST by sgtbono2002
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To: Time is now
These goof balls have too much time on their hands

And yet they somehow never get around to fulfilling their promise to abolish the car tax.

Worthless parasites.

20 posted on 01/12/2005 6:47:02 AM PST by steve-b (A desire not to butt into other people's business is eighty percent of all human wisdom)
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