Utah Legislature Targets Miscarriage

Last week, in a stunning and - to some - alarming move, the Utah legislature voted to pass a controversial bill calling for criminal penalties for miscarriages.

While the bill does not say that any woman who has a miscarriage will be punished, it does proscribe homicide charges for women who commit an "intentional, knowing, or reckless act" that results in a miscarriage.

The general premise is based on the desire by anti-abortion activists in Utah to prevent women from willfully committing miscarriages as an alternative to an abortion (which is not legal in the state). Critics say, though, that the bill goes too far and contains language that is loose enough to be flagrantly abused.

Up to 10% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. That means there are a lot of women who will potentially be investigated each year by the state to determine if they intentionally committed a miscarriage. How do you tell if the miscarriage was intentional or was due to an accident or lapse in judgment - such as not wearing a seatbelt one time, or accidentally falling? What is stopping the state from applying a very liberal interpretation and charging women with willful homicide when such a charge is not deserved?

Some also claim that the entire premise is absurd and is targeted towards women in general. The irony to me is that hardcore Utah conservatives (which typically put other conservatives to shame when it comes to their far-right views on social issues) are investing a tremendous amount of power in the government - which is supposed to be anathema to a conservative.

The bill has yet to be signed into law by the governor, who may yield to rising opposition to the law and wield his veto power. Given the large margins by which the bill passed, however, it is likely that any veto would be overridden.