Calling all VA voters!

[kay]

I'm not quite sure what to say about all of this, so I'm just going to post
several links of much more eloquent people than me. Basically, the VA
Legislature is trying to make it a crime not to report a miscarriage, which
is scary enough in and of itself, but it also has significant repercussions
on a person's right to privacy which impacts each and every one of us as
members of the GLBT community.

http://dailykos.com/story/2005/1/6/194434/1328

http://www.livejournal.com/users/koimistress/26845.html

And from a writer acquaintance of mine who lives in Arlington, Mindy Klasky:
"As many of you know, I am not a political creature. I do not spend a lot
of my time tracking legislation or otherwise following the events in
Richmond.
Nevertheless, a bill has been brought before the Virginia House of
Delegates
which endangers the privacy rights of every woman in the Commonwealth of
Virginia.

Virginia House Bill 1677 requires a woman to report any miscarriage to local
law enforcement within twelve hours of experiencing that unfortunate event.
The bill does not distinguish between early and late miscarriages. Failure
to report is a class one misdemeanor (the same category of crime as
statutory
rape, arson, and stalking), with penalties of up to one year in prison and
a fine of $2500. (Please note that the bill does not address *abortion*;
it merely addresses miscarriage.)

You can read more about the bill here:

http://democracyforvirginia.typepad.com/democracy_for_virginia/2005/01/legislative_sen.html

If you live in Virginia, and if you are as appalled as I am, I urge you
to respond today, contacting Delegate Cosgrove, your local delegates, and
all Virginia residents who should oppose such a stunning invasion of our
privacy."

kay
aghast feet

~~~~
"One girl is worth ten boys." -- Peter Pan

[Bard Kesnit]

Post by kay
I'm not quite sure what to say about all of this, so I'm just going to post
several links of much more eloquent people than me. Basically, the VA
Legislature is trying to make it a crime not to report a miscarriage, which
is scary enough in and of itself, but it also has significant repercussions
on a person's right to privacy which impacts each and every one of us as
members of the GLBT community.
http://dailykos.com/story/2005/1/6/194434/1328
http://www.livejournal.com/users/koimistress/26845.html
Virginia House Bill 1677 requires a woman to report any miscarriage to local
law enforcement within twelve hours of experiencing that unfortunate event.
The bill does not distinguish between early and late miscarriages. Failure
to report is a class one misdemeanor (the same category of crime as
statutory rape, arson, and stalking),

Since I don't see an update, I'll just say that the bill was
first rewritten to state that women had to report any stillborn child,
then was withdrawn alltogether.

Bard Kesnit
stocking feet with a dog on them

[Heather Rose Jones]

Post by kay
Virginia House Bill 1677 requires a woman to report any miscarriage to local
law enforcement within twelve hours of experiencing that unfortunate event.
The bill does not distinguish between early and late miscarriages. Failure
to report is a class one misdemeanor (the same category of crime as
statutory
rape, arson, and stalking), with penalties of up to one year in prison and
a fine of $2500. (Please note that the bill does not address *abortion*;
it merely addresses miscarriage.)

Hmm ... let's see ... technically, for a woman who is
sexually active with men, there is no guarantee that _any_
period does not involve the termination of a fertilized egg.
So just to be on the safe side (since one wouldn't want to
break the law), all women in that situation should report
every period as a possible miscarriage. And since it would
be an inappropriate invasoin of privacy for the police to
inquire into a woman's sexual history when she makes such a
report .... If every woman in Virginia went into the
nearest police station to fill out a report for every period
-- just on the off chance that it might have been a
spontaneous early miscarriage -- how quickly do you think
they'd get rid of this stupid law?

Heather
(monthly shoes)
--
Heather Rose Jones
***@earthlink.net

[Steph Barrett]

Post by Heather Rose Jones
If every woman in Virginia went into the
nearest police station to fill out a report for every period
-- just on the off chance that it might have been a
spontaneous early miscarriage -- how quickly do you think
they'd get rid of this stupid law?

Brilliant response, Heather. When I first read of this proposal, my
reaction was, how the hell will you know if you're just having a heavy
period or if you're breaking the law? Plus, who would handle all these
reports, as miscarriages (to the denial of the public think) are common
events.

I think it would be safest if every woman reported ever menses and maybe
included a "sample" for assessment. Of course, you wouldn't want to send
your own or they'll be DNA fingerprinting all the women in the state.

Steph
socks