Legislative Sentry: HB1677 - Have Miscarriage, Go to Jail?

UPDATE:  If you are visiting this link for the first time, please read this clarification and this update before contacting Delegate Cosgrove, whose office has been inundated by emails. The email deluge is a Good Thing, IMO, but only if the emails themselves are based on a full understanding of his proposed legislation.  So please read before you rant!  :-)  And thanks for caring enough to rant, to act, to inform yourselves, to get involved.  I'm in awe.

The update includes the text of the email that Delegate Cosgrove asked me to share with readers.

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Imagine the following scenario. 

You are at home alone at 8:00 on a Friday night.  You are 8 weeks pregnant.  You are excited about the pregnancy, but being cautious, you haven’t told anyone about it yet except your partner, your best friend, your parents, and your doctor. 

All of a sudden, you begin to experience heavy cramping.  Bleeding ensues.  You realize with shock and sadness that you are probably experiencing a miscarriage.  You leave a message with your doctor’s service.  The on-call doctor calls back, offers sympathies, and advises taking pain medication or going to the hospital if the bleeding gets worse. She offers you the next available appointment for a follow-up exam - Monday at 3PM.  You accept. You are overwhelmed with grief and surprised by the intensity of physical pain involved. You call your partner and ask him to come home from his “boys night out”, sparing him the reason over the phone.  You call your best friend.  She offers to come over immediately and make you cocoa.  You cry. 

You decide not to tell your parents yet; let them sleep through the night before delivering the terrible news.  Your partner comes home and you break the sad news to him.  He holds you on the couch and you both cry together.  Your best friend comes over with cocoa.  You cry some more.  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, and then gird yourself for the difficult call to your parents, who were so eagerly anticipating their first grandchild.

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.

HB1677, “Report of Fetal Death by mother, penalty”

It sounds preposterous to talk about criminalizing women who suffer miscarriages, but one Virginia legislator is proposing just that.  HB1677, “Report of Fetal Death by mother, penalty” is a bill introduced by John A. Cosgrove (R) of Chesapeake.  Cosgrove’s bill requires any woman who experiences “fetal death” without a doctor’s assistance to report this to the local law-enforcement agency within twelve hours of the miscarriage.  Failure to do so is punishable as a Class 1 Misdemeanor.

Background: Reporting of Fetal Deaths

Almost all states mandate reporting of fetal deaths to vital statistics bureaus.  These statistics are then collected nationally by the CDC.  In most states, health care providers must provide statistics on fetal deaths after 20 weeks gestation (or at a certain fetal weight approximating 20 weeks gestation). Virginia is one of only 7 states, however, that mandate the reporting of deaths of all “products of conception” regardless of gestational age.  This includes both spontaneous losses of pregnancy and induced terminations of pregnancy, though the required data fields are different for abortions.

In Virginia, all losses of pregnancy must be reported by health care providers according to current law.  The reality, though, is that countless women experience spontaneous abortions in the first few gestational weeks without even being aware of pregnancy, so not all pregnancies of early gestational age are reported.  Women who experience miscarriages at home without a doctor’s care may not even think to inform their doctors, especially if the pregnancy is so early that they have not yet even sought prenatal care.  Until this bill, though, no one has suggested it was in the interest of the Commonwealth of Virginia to track down these unreported losses of "products of conception".

The Bill: text
When a fetal death occurs without medical attendance, it shall be the woman's responsibility to report the death to the law-enforcement agency in the jurisdiction of which the delivery occurs within 12 hours after the delivery. A violation of this section shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.

The Bill: The Most Odious Infringement on the Privacy of Virginia women...ever
Delegate Cosgrove’s bill is an outrageous attack on the privacy of Virginia women.  Consider this - there is no law mandating that a woman must report a pregnancy to the Commonwealth, or even seek medical treatment for one.  But this bill proposes that a woman report a LOSS of  a pregnancy to the Commonwealth, whatever the gestational age of the embryo/fetus.

Furthermore, this bill means that a woman who experiences a spontaneous loss of pregnancy will have her privacy violated significantly more than if she had chosen an abortion.  Though Virginia requires that induced terminations of pregnancy be reported, those reporting forms require only a “patient number” and information on the procedure.  The “report of fetal death” asks for the woman’s full name, her history of prenatal care, her marital status, her education history, her previous deliveries (if any), and a number of other very intrusive data items.

If the miscarriage occurred under a physician’s care, all of this information would be provided by the physician out of the patient’s medical records.  Physicians and/or funeral directors are given 24 hours to file this report.  Delegate Cosgrove’s bill gives women who experience miscarriage without a doctor only 12 hours to report, adding insult to injury.

Practical concerns: an affront to decency

Returning to our original scenario, let’s imagine that this bill becomes law.  Will the average woman in Virginia who experiences spontaneous loss of pregnancy at home know that she is risking a year in jail if she doesn't report it?  (The practical considerations for publicizing such a law are enormous - a Class 1 misdemeanor is a serious crime in Virginia - will the health department create TV ads to inform women of this new law?) 

But let’s assume, against all probability, that you are aware that there is a law requiring you to report it.

At what point during your first 12 hours of grief at the loss of this pregnancy do you make time to call the cops to report it?   Let’s say you finally pull yourself together after your partner and best friend arrive to comfort you.  You pick up the phone at midnight and call your local police non-emergency number.  What do you say?  “Hello?  Um.  I’d like to report that I just had a miscarriage?”

What then?  Does the officer on the other end of the phone have a Commonwealth of Virginia Report of Fetal Death form right in front of him or her?  Does a squad car with flashing lights arrive at your house to investigate?  Is the officer who responds trained to handle your case compassionately and kindly?  Let's consider what information you would be required to provide when you comply with the law.

What’s in the Commonwealth of Virginia Report of Fetal Death?

Virginia Board of Health regulations specify the required information on the Commonwealth of Virginia Report of Fetal Death.  Delegate Cosgrove's bill provides for no modification of this form when women report fetal deaths themselves.

The report requires the following items for spontaneous fetal deaths:

• place of occurrence
  
• usual residence of patient  (mother)
  
• full maiden name of patient
  
• medical record number and social security number of patient
  
• Hispanic origin, if any, and race of patient
  
• age of patient
  
• education of patient
  
• sex of fetus
  
• patient married  to father
  
• previous deliveries to patient
  
• single or plural delivery  and order of plural delivery
  
• date of delivery
  
• date of last normal  menses and physician's estimate of gestation
  
• weight of fetus in grams
  
• month of pregnancy care began (sic)
  
• number of prenatal visits
  
• when fetus died
  
• congenital malformations, if any
  
• events of labor and delivery
  
• medical history for this pregnancy
  
• other history for this pregnancy
  
• obstetric procedures and method of delivery
  
• autopsy
  
• medical certification  f cause of spontaneous fetal death
  
• signature of attending physician or medical examiner including title, address and date signed
  method of disposal of fetus
  
• signature and address of funeral director or hospital representative
  
• date received by registrar
  
• registrar's signature
  
• registration area and report numbers.

Remember, Virginia defines "fetal death" regardless of gestational age, and requires reporting of deaths of all "products of conception".  At early gestational age of pregnancy, how are you supposed to get some of this information?  Are you supposed to find a kitchen scale and weigh the “products of conception” so you can get a report in grams? 

I know this is quite ghastly for me to suggest, but these are the practical considerations that occur to me as a woman when I think about the actual implementation of such a bill.  Delegate Cosgrove’s bill does not change the data elements required when a woman reports a fetal death herself, so the police officer  in charge of taking the report would have to ask these questions.  I assume that the officer would be understanding if a woman says "I have no idea" for some of the questions, but the ordeal of having to even consider answering some of these - such as guessing the sex of the "products of conception" is nothing short of barbaric. 

Of course I'm assuming that this would all happen over the phone.  But what if some police departments in Virginia decided that the report would have to be taken in person?  Would a squad car then appear in front of the woman’s home?  She’d then have to face the curious stares and questions of her neighbors, yet another gross violation of privacy.  Would she be required to produce the “products of conception” for the police officer’s inspection?  Again, I know this is gory, but I’ve been present when a friend miscarried in early pregnancy.   I know what early “products of conception” may look like.  And I am outraged that some man in Chesapeake would come along and try to pass a law that says I or any other Virginia woman who experiences miscarriage at home might have to weigh them so I can include this information in the report in the first 12 hours after miscarriage or face a year in jail.

Does the punishment fit the “crime”?
Suffering a miscarriage is no crime, but Delegate Cosgrove wants to make it a crime for a woman to fail to violate her own privacy in the first 12 hours after a miscarriage, so let’s look at his proposed penalty.

Cosgrove's bill says, “A violation of this section shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.”

Let's see.  What other crimes are punishable as Class 1 misdemeanors in Virginia?  A cursory Google search reveals just a few...

A person 18 years of age or older engaging in consensual intercourse with a child 15 or older not his spouse, child or grandchild (more commonly known as "statutory rape")

burning or destroying a building or structure if the property therein is valued at less than $200 (arson)

a bomb threat made by someone younger than 15

carrying a concealed weapon while under the influence of drugs or alcohol

possession or distribution of fraudulent drivers’ licenses or official identification

stalking

threatening any public school employee while on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity

purchasing or providing alcohol to minors

So, Delegate Cosgrove is basically saying that failing to violate your own privacy within 12 hours of a miscarriage is the criminal equivalent of statutory rape, arson, stalking, and other serious crimes.

The authorized punishments for convictions for a Class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia are “confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine of not more than $2500, either or both.”

In what way would the Commonwealth of Virginia benefit from this bill?
I have no idea.  Most other states don't even bother collecting data for spontaneous loss of pregnancy before 20 weeks gestation.  The CDC does not process this data along with other state data on fetal death.  The health care providers I have spoken to see no benefit, since reporting the loss of products of conception to law enforcement authorities provides no benefit to medical science.

Three days ago, I wrote what I consider to be a restrained and respectful email to Delegate Cosgrove asking for his rationale on the necessity of this bill.  I have not yet heard a response from him or his office. 

What I have learned, through initial research, is that the legislative agenda of numerous anti-abortion groups includes increased reporting of fetal deaths and issuance of death certificates for miscarriages.  The point is to advance the legal recognition of "personhood" for all "products of conception".

In the 2003 legislative session in Virginia, a law was passed allowing parents to request a “birth certificate” for a stillbirth, a law that is clearly in line with the agenda of anti-abortion extremists to recognize embryonic and fetal personhood.  The fact that Virginia is one of the few states that requires reporting of deaths of all “products of conception” regardless of gestational age plays in to this anti-abortion agenda. 

Though there is no practical benefit to the Commonwealth in collecting this information from women - in fact, there would be considerable burden placed on local law enforcement agencies.  This bill places the advancement of the cause of recognizing legal "personhood" for all products of conception far above the concerns of the Commonwealth and of the dignity of individual women whose privacy would be violated.

If you find this bill as offensive as I do, what can you do now?  A few ideas...

• If you live in Virginia, join me in asking Delegate Cosgrove how his bill will benefit the people of the Commonwealth.
• If you live in Virginia, write to your Delegate and State Senator to express your views on this bill and demand that they oppose it.
  
• Contact the Democratic candidates for Lieutenant Governor in Virginia and let them know that you will expect them to oppose this bill and will consider this in your voting decision in the primary.
  
• If you participate in online communities for women, please spread the word about this bill.  I believe that most women, regardless of position on the issue of reproductive freedom, will be offended by this bill.  I know many avowedly pro-life women who have experienced miscarriages and who would be horrified by the intrusion of the state in the first 12 hours following this tragedy.  This is a perfect opportunity to reach out to a "netroots" beyond the Democratic netroots -- there are many online support groups for mothers, women who have experienced miscarriages, women experiencing fertility problems, etc, that may be appropriate to contact about this bill.  I welcome any ideas you have about how we can spread the word.
  
• No one ran against John Cosgrove in the 78th District in 2003.  If you live in or near this district, please try to find someone to stand against him this year!
  
• If you live in Virginia and want to keep watch over bills in this legislative session, please join the Democracy for Virginia Legislative Sentry email list.  This listserv was created this week to serve as a tool for collecting and disseminating information on bills for the upcoming Virginia legislative session.  HB1677 is only one of dozens of very dangerous bills, and progressive activists in Virginia must get the word out about this proposed legislation among allied grassroots groups, organizations, and like-minded citizens.  If you want to keep watch along with other volunteer "sentries", please sign up!

Since the 100-member Virginia House of Delegates is dominated by over 60 Republicans, it will take a wide public awareness campaign to defeat this bill.  It has become too easy for the Republicans in the Virginia legislature to sneak through bills like this one, and the most potent weapon available for defeating this bill is awareness. Only a widespread public condemnation of this bill will stop it from becoming the law of the Commonwealth.

Comments

[Michelle]

Here's the letter I will be sending to the guy.

I have one question about your proposed HB1677 requiring that women report miscarriages--Are you high? Do you not have a wife or mother?

Seriously what is wrong with you? I can't get over my outrage about this bill to even be coherent.

Why can't the doctor's report miscarriages as women come into their offices LIKE THEY ALREADY DO? Most women need some level of medical care during a miscarriage, assuming they know they are pregnant. I doubt the statistics from the state's doctors are all that far off from what you would get if you force women to report their losses as if they were Jews reporting to Nazi death camps.

I hope you come to your senses. There are much more compassionate and logical ways to push forward a Right Wing Pro-Life stance. Your lack of imagination and sensitivity is appalling.

Think about it, you're requiring the women to provide the same information as the doctor's do with no consideration that 1)they aren't doctors and 2) they won't have the equipment to weigh the remains of their child or meet the other data requirements. Is your intellectual capacity and empathy (or that of your advisors) so limited that you couldn't see these logistical issues?

If this is an example of your problem solving, leadership, and legislating abilities, I really hope you find some other job. And quickly, for all our sakes.

[GototheSource]

Nothing like going to the horse's mouth for information. Being the nosy Parker that I am, I took it upon myself to email Delegate Cosgrove's office.

I just had the nicest phone conversation with Christie from Mr. Cosgrove's office. VA HB1677 does not, in fact have anything at all to do with miscarriages. The revision to the law currently on the books has been proposed in an effort to deter people from dumping babies and leaving them to die. Eleven babies were abandoned and found dead in 2003 alone.

Del Cosgrove and the VA legislature is simply trying to ensure that every baby born in VA has the right to continued life. VA does have a "Baby Moses" law on the books. Simply stated, an unwanted (for lack of a better word) baby can be surrendered at any safe place, i.e. fire department, police department, hospital, drs office, or any public place open for business at the time the baby is left, without reprisal.

Christie told me the last baby they found was in a snowbank in February 2004. Someone had taken the time to diaper the baby and wrap her in a blanket before they just left her in the woods, where she froze.

Personally, I think VA has more of an education issue with teen pregnancy and how to handle those pregnancies and they should focus more on this aspect, but the proposal does not have anything to do with miscarriages.

Just thought you'd like to know.

[Shags]

Um, "GototheSource" - it doesn't matter what the drones working for that Delegate TELLS you the bill is about, if you read the TEXT of the bill it says quite clearly, in plain English, all that the author of this website says it does.

And sorry if it sounds cold, but 11 trashcan babies is no excuse for violating the privacy rights of every woman in the state.

[GototheSource]

That's not what the bill says, that's what this interpretation of the bill says. The bill is currently being redrafted to specifically exclude miscarriages.

What do I care? I'm not in VA and I'm betting you're not either.

I would tend to agree, however, that the focus should be more on education and personal responsibility.

[Kate the Great]

You're right, GototheSource--there's nothing like going straight to the horse's mouth for information. Which is why I read the actual text of the bill. And it says exactly what's written in the original post. I don't care how polite Cosgrove's staff is; they're still supporting an egregious effort to strip our away our civil rights. What kind of person could possibly be in favor of this legislation? Certainly not any woman I know, conservative, liberal, or any other political stripe.

[Carrie]

Well, since you asked us to share our experiences, I will share mine. I moved to Virginia 7 months ago and my husband and I started trying to have children because we finally felt settled. The second month of trying resulted in a postive pregnancy test, burning nipples, and extreme lethargy. I was thrilled! I went to a mid-wife and she proclaimed that I was pregnant.

Three days later I started having the most painful period of my entire life. I called the mid-wife in a panic and she told me I was probably having a miscarriage but I could come have a blood test the next week. She said I didn't need to seek any medical care because nature would take it's course.

Sure enough I had suffered a miscarriage. I spent almost a full week bleeding and sobbing and cramping. I've never experienced anything so physically or emotionally painful.

And now they would have me call the police if this happens again? The thought is mindboggling.

[jenn]

when did i invite the govt into my private life?
so,i guess everytime i have a heavy period,i will call the police and say "i think i am miscarrying?" obviously someone doesnt understand the female body and know that you could be pregnany and miscarry and never even know you were pregnant to begin with. how about educating yourself better before you write such bogus crap..
this is the most insane thing i have ever heard in life. shame on the "genious" who thought up this insensitive thing!!!

[Brenda]

I agree with Jenn that many women don't even know that they are pregnant. What kind of idiot thought this up??

[Maura in VA]

Gotothesource,

Thanks for the information provided to you by Delegate Cosgrove's office. I wish I had received a response from him before I wrote this, as I may have taken a different approach in publicizing it.

But let's stay in the reality-based community for a second. You can argue with my interpretation and I take no offense if anyone does - I'm not a legislator.

But you can't argue with the text of the bill, which refers to FETAL DEATH, and the text of the Code of Virginia which defines fetal death. The text of the bill has *nothing to do with abandoning live infants*.

I commend Delegate Cosgrove for his caring about the abandonment of live infants. He should write a bill about that. But this bill is about fetal deaths.

What I find most interesting is your information that the bill is currently being redrafted. I can't help but think that's because of a firestorm of objection to the way it's written. And I thank everyone who has taken the time to read about this, to confirm or question my own interpretations, and to act on it. If Delegate Cosgrove is re-writing the bill, then this has been worth everyone's time. It's democracy in action, and I'm proud of everyone who has bothered to take action here..

[Becky]

I am outrage at this information. Many women do not even know they are pregnant to have a miscarraige, they think it's just their period coming early. No man or woman has rights to know when a woman miscarries! It's a natural thing that happens, and if it's going to happen the couple can not prevent it from happening! STUPID STUPID STUPID, I would have to say the MAN who is wanting this to pass is stupid!

[kelly]

That is just plain stupid. Someone has WAY too much time on his hands!

[anonymous]

Any suggestions on what those of us outside of Virginia could do? I'd love to take action!

[Melissa]

What the Hell? I don't live anywhere near you, I am an Australian mother. But I too, have suffered a very traumatic miscarriage, at 12 weeks. I cannot believe that this bill is even being considered. Surely, they are not serious???? This is an offront to all women. The trauma of losing a child should not be compounded by the thoughtless ramblings of an idiot with no clue! How dare he?

[Marlaine]

Losing a much wanted baby is devastating enough without having to a) tell total strangers about it while you're still newly coping yourself b) having to tell relatives before you've had time to deal with your own physical and emtional well being and c) having to face a possible penalty for breaking a barbaric law that carries with it a fine, and for what ? Would anyone ever dream of expecting a mother who has just lost a child to do something like this ? So then, why should the mother of an unborn child be subjected to it ? Let alone that this flies in the face of women's rights to their own bodies, whether you are prochoice or in favor of right to life laws (and I am torn between the two, so I don't feel that I am biased one way or the other), this is violation of a parent's privacy. It's not the same as a parent's responsibility to report abuse or a tragedy that might be prevented or even remedied after the fact. Who wins with this law ? The prospective grandparents ? Do they honestly believe that this law will give them a say in things if they don't already have one ? If they aren't close enough to their children to be a part of their lives or don't have enough compassion to let the grieving parents tell them in their own time, do they really believe a law such as this will remedy things ? Who is this law protecting ? Whoever dreamed this one up needs see a proctologist and fast. Someone should help him locate his brain.

[Kevin]

I am a white male evangelical Republican, and therefore considered by many to be a step below Satan. However:
Please do NOT think that all pro life people are anything like this delegate. My heart aches for mothers (and fathers) who have lost a child, before or after 38 weeks gestation, and I am disgusted by this proposal!

[Kelly Perkins]

This is the most deplorable, disgusting, invasive, ridiculous idea I have ever heard of. It is difficult enough for a woman to suffer the pain of a miscarriage without having to worry about being charged with a crime.

[Carl]

Sometimes I whine a bit about the Liberalism here in Canada, but then an article like this shows up. The right wing has become cultish in the U.S.A. and doesn't seem to fall far from having its own Ayatollah. It is a shame that lately, it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. In another 4 years, the R's will have "fixed" the rest of the electronic voting machines and then where will you be?

[Corrine]

Thank you so much for posting this. I'm doing what I can to get the word out in Washington state. We're not Virginians, but hopefully some bad press will help.

[Chikita the Canuck]

I'm a Canadian woman, who has for a long time disliked the religious right... And now I have this to say: Excuse me? You're kidding me, right? Right? This isn't just some sick twisted joke is it? This is too sick to be for real! If this becomes reality... I shudder to think about what will happen next.

[Andrew]

Yet another reason not to vitist or live in Virginia. Now that the uppity gays have been put in their place, it's time to deal with pregnant women. I don't know who's scarier: this whack-job, or the whack-jobs who voted for him.

[jess]

okay, im a 16 yr old brit. i think this is horrific. what if something goes wrong and you cannot report it because you were asleep or something... violating peoples privacy yes, humane no, mentally traumatising definately. no one sane can pass this, i feel for all you virginians. also note to self, dont miscarriage in virginia!

[ema]

More than 80% of spontaneous abs occur in the first 12 weeks. Chromosomal anomalies cause at least 50% of these early abs. A majority of fertilized eggs do not implant. Moreover, of those that implant, 22% are aborted before pregnancy is clinically recognized. The frequency of clinically recognized abortion is 12% to 26%.

In nearly *all* cases of spontaneous abortion, the expulsion of the POC is preceded by the death of the embryo or fetus in utero (inside the uterus).

[Outraged Christian]

I'll have to say that this proposed legislation is, without a doubt the sickest, most vile, worst perversion imaginable. It is positively satanistic. No right minded gentleman could ever support this, and only a comopletely shameful excuse for a man could have proposed it. This legislation lacks all all decorum, and all gallantry. It is ungentlemanly, indecent, and unchristian. It violates all of what conservativism once stood for, and I say this as a registered Republican.

[Lisa in PA]

outrageously ludicrous, ridiculas, and obserd. This REP needs to get a life, and stop putting his nose into the private lives of others.

[concerned_divination]

This has just got to be the most horrid thing I have ever seen being proposed. I utterly disgusted with the republican who proposed. Is this what the republican party has come to. This is not what I brought up to belive in.