Let Me Tell You A Story

[TW for hostility to consent and agency]

A couple weeks ago, Liss wrote about a Georgia state legislator, Bobby Franklin, who intro'd a bill that would change the word "victim" to "accuser" in relation to certain crimes. Those crimes being: stalking, rape, obscene telephone contact with a child, and family violence.

Well, this peach of a human has another bill. Before we get into the details of this new horror show, I'd like to recall something I wrote quite a long time ago when ND tried to make it so that "life begins at conception". You know, the whole "a fertilized egg is a citizen with full legal rights" bit. Anyway, this is what I wrote:

Since a woman's body is giving life to the embryo or fetus via the placenta/umbilical cord/blood/uterine environment and this embryo or fetus has full rights of personhood, how will the woman then be monitored? If she eats something like, oh, sushi...will she be fined? After all, you aren't supposed to do that as it could be dangerous to the embryo/fetus and the embryo/fetus is a full legal person that one cannot submit to harm. How much is too much Starbucks? Again, how will this be monitored?

[...]

Speaking of harm, what about miscarriages? If an embryo/fetus has full legal standing as a genuine/individual person, the its 'death' will need to be investigated via autopsy. When I miscarried, I started bleeding on a Wednesday. I went in for my ultrasound on Thursday where it was confirmed. I couldn't get into see my ob/gyn until very early Friday morning, which by then I had naturally passed everything (into the toilet). Should women who face the same situation straddle a bucket to bleed in? Keep her pads? Take the contents to the police? The contents of such will need to be investigated to make sure that there was no foul play involved, as again, an embryo/fetus is a full legal person whose death would warrant an investigation and, eventually, death certificate (which, btw, are not given for miscarriages now). How much more money will this cost? These ideas were submitted before the VA state legislature some time back, btw, if you recall. But also necessary if declaring embryos full-fledged people which you are doing.

So. An embryo is a person of legal standing and abortion is murder. Ok then. Murder is a very serious crime. So, somehow or another, a woman is 'caught' trying to abort (or aborted). Perhaps the tox screen of her miscarriage contents show black cohosh. Maybe she showed up septic at the hospital with a partially done abortion like so many women in the mid-late 20th century. Either way, she's guilty of trying to or already committing murder under your new legislation. Where are you going to put all these new prisons? How are you going to pay for them? If "abortion is murder" there must be criminal investigations, trials, more prisons, and it all has to be paid for.

Bringing this up is relevant because the whole "investigate miscarriages" thing? That's exactly what Rep. Frankin is proposing. His bill, in fact, calls it "prenatal murder" and is trying to rewrite the language in all GA legislation that references abortion and/or fetuses--who are now "prenatal citizens".

Some lowlights from the bill:

To amend the Official Code of Georgia Annotated so as to provide that prenatal murder shall be unlawful in all events and to remove numerous references to such procedures; to amend Title 16, relating to crimes and offenses, so as to make certain findings of fact; to define certain terms; to provide that any prenatal murder shall be unlawful; to provide a penalty; to repeal certain exceptions to certain offenses; to provide for severability; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

(a) The State of Georgia has the duty to protect all innocent life from the moment of conception until natural death. We know that life begins at conception. After nearly four decades of legal human prenatal murder, it is now abundantly clear that the practice has negatively impacted the people of this state in many ways, including economic, health, physical, psychological, emotional, and medical well-being. [...]

(1) A fetus is a person for all purposes under the laws of this state from the moment of conception;

[...]

12) The United States Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to hear or decide the case of Roe v. Wade or any other case pertaining to a state's punishment of the crime of prenatal murder;

(13) As it had no jurisdiction to hear the case, certainly the United States Supreme Court lacked the authority to pass, or order all states to strike or refuse to enforce, a law that is outside of its subject matter or federal jurisdiction;

(19) However, denying to a state the right to define and punish a crime not specified in the United States Constitution is a per se legislative act;

(20) The nullification of a state's properly promulgated laws is specifically delineated as an offense committed by King George III against the states, for which separation became necessary; The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America;

(21) Compliance with, and continuation of, a fiat determination of the Supreme Court from nearly 40 years ago will cause the basis of this Union, and eventually the Union itself, to fall;

(22) Georgia was not a party to the suit in Roe v. Wade, and is not bound by a decision in which it did not have right of participation;

[...]


25) The act of prenatal murder is murder and conspiracy to commit murder per se;

(26) The act of prenatal murder has caused a significant reduction in the number of citizens in this state who would serve as workers, entrepreneurs, teachers, employees, and employers who would have significantly contributed to the prosperity and continuation of this state; and

(27) The failure to prosecute a violation of this Code section is a violation of the obligation of this state to provide all of its citizens with an equal protection of the laws.
(b) As used in this Code section, the term:

(1) 'Fetus' means a person at any point of development from and including the moment of conception through the moment of birth. Such term includes all medical or popular designations of an unborn child from the moment of conception such as conceptus, zygote, embryo, homunculus, and similar terms.

(2) 'Prenatal murder' means the intentional removal of a fetus from a woman with an intention other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus; provided, however, that if a physician makes a medically justified effort to save the lives of both the mother and the fetus and the fetus does not survive, such action shall not be prenatal murder. Such term does not include a naturally occurring expulsion of a fetus known medically as a 'spontaneous abortion' and popularly as a 'miscarriage' so long as there is no human involvement whatsoever in the causation of such event.

(c) The act of prenatal murder is contrary to the health and well-being of the citizens of this state and to the state itself and is illegal in this state in all instances.

(d) Any person committing prenatal murder in this state shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be punished as provided in subsection (d) of Code Section 16-5-1. The license of any physician indicted for an alleged violation of this Code section shall be suspended until resolution of the matter. The license of any physician convicted of a violation of this Code section shall be permanently revoked. The provisions of this Code section shall be in addition to any other provisions relating to the killing of a fetus or any other person."

[...]

SECTION 2.13.

Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 31-10-1, relating to definitions relative to vital records, by deleting the words "product of human conception" and replacing them with "prenatal human person" in paragraphs (4), (9), and (15); by deleting the words "induced termination of pregnancy" and replacing them with "prenatal murder" in paragraphs (7) and (20); and by deleting the words "an induced termination of pregnancy" and replacing them with "a prenatal murder" in paragraph (15).

And it goes on and on and on repealing or replacing language regarding abortion, contraception (!), health care facilities, death records bureaucracy, and criminal code in Georgia.

Which brings me to my story. Let me tell you a story, Mr. Franklin. A story about my spontaneous abortion of my "prenatal human person".

In mid-July of 2001, I got the good news via positive pregnancy test that I was expecting my second child. Much rejoicing as it was turning out to be a banner year--my husband got a great job, we were in contract to build our own house, and now this great news. At the end of August of that year, the lease on our apartment was up and my in-laws generously offered to let us live in their house until our house was finished (in December). They had plenty of space, there was just the three of us at that time, and it made the most financial sense. Now, I got along with my in-laws ok. We were friendly but I wouldn't say "like family". Not at that point. So living together for a few months was just...all right. Tolerable, is the best way to describe it, I think--for everyone.

On Tuesday, September 11th I had my first prenatal appointment for that pregnancy. Oh how strange it was, to me, to be going to an appointment regarding new life when at that very time tragedy and death were occurring a few states away. I distinctly recall thinking that--and that it was the most gorgeous September day I had ever seen. Anyway, all was well at the appointment. Just too soon to hear the heartbeat on the doppler, next appointment definitely.

The next day, around mid-morning, I started having cramps. This isn't unusual in early pregnancy, so I didn't think too much of it. Until I started spotting bright red blood that afternoon. I was, of course, very concerned. I called my OB and he got me scheduled for an ultrasound at the hospital the next morning.

By the time I went in for the ultrasound, I was bleeding heavily. I sobbed my way through filling out the paperwork and I could barely speak to the receptionist. I knew when I looked at the monitor that there was no hope for this pregnancy. My OB, who was off that day, had requested the radiologist to call him right then to let him know and he talked to me on the phone for about half an hour. I scheduled a D&C for the next morning.

The D&C turned out to be unnecessary. That Thursday afternoon I sat sobbing on the toilet, because I was bleeding and cramping so much, and with one horrible cramp, everything passed. It was both painful and then, as what essentially was labor ended, the cramping stopped and I felt physically better. I just sat there. Mentally and emotionally numb. My in-laws were judiciously avoiding me, though it was the only bathroom in their house and I wasn't exactly quiet in my sobbing pain. My husband...well, he wasn't there either at that time. Eventually I left the bathroom and my joy just a few months before, literally, went all down the drain. I went into a bleak, horrible depression after. It was a traumatic experience that has taken me several years to be able to talk about openly, not because I was ashamed or any such thing, but because of the sheer pain.

I tell you this story, my story, Mr. Franklin, because you obviously have no clue. You're an arrogant ass who thinks he knows but he doesn't. You want to "protect" so-called "prenatal citizens" but you don't have a fucking thought for the women you'd torture with your investigations into their miscarriages. Now I know my experience is not necessarily universal. Not all women feel as I did. However, even if a miscarriage is not more than a blip on a woman's emotional radar and an investigation wouldn't be tortuous, it would still be a gross invasion of privacy.

Let's discuss the logistical nightmare of your legislation. What the fuck do you expect women who miscarry to do, exactly, with the contents of their uterus as they bleed out at home? Keep it in a bucket to take in for autopsy? Does she turn herself into police so they can start an investigation. Yeah, I see that happening. Are you proposing special hospital rooms that women would check into so they can be monitored and the blood and tissues kept with more ease? Will you start up some preemptive monitoring of your prenatal citizen incubators (I mean, let's call women for what they are to you, eh)?

Have you even remotely thought this through besides your evident "concern" for fertilized eggs potentially becoming future tax payers? Yeah. That's what I thought. Your evident crusade against abortion and againt women is an abomination.

Fuck you.