The Republican whackos are at it again

[pegkerr]

From ceilidh:

You have GOT to be kidding me

Republican lawmakers are drafting new legislation that will make marriage a requirement for motherhood in the state of Indiana, including specific criminal penalties for unmarried women who do become pregnant "by means other than sexual intercourse."

According to a draft of the recommended change in state law, every woman in Indiana seeking to become a mother through assisted reproduction therapy such as in vitro fertilization, sperm donation,and egg donation, must first file for a "petition for parentage" in their local county probate court.

Only women who are married will be considered for the "gestational certificate" that must be presented to any doctor who facilitates the pregnancy. Further, the "gestational certificate" will only be given to married couples that successfully complete the same screening process currently required by law of adoptive parents.

As it the draft of the new law reads now, an intended parent "who knowingly or willingly participates in an artificial reproduction procedure" without court approval, "commits unauthorized reproduction, a Class B misdemeanor." The criminal charges will be the same for physicians who commit "unauthorized practice of artificial reproduction."

A draft of the legislation is available on the Health Finance Commission website here.

As ceilidh says, What the hell? Unauthorized reproduction? WTF is this, A Handmaid's Tale?

Edited to add: Apparently someone somewhere has come to their senses, because the proposed legislation is being dropped</>. Geez. Thank heavens.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

You should read Sheri Tepper's Gibbon's Decline and Fall I don't see it as man-hating at all, but it addresses over and over again the fundamental need for women to have control over their own reproductivity in any aspect.

Oh, and this is what I found when I Googled Sen. Miller:


HEA1630 HIV testing of pregnant women

Author: Rep. Peggy Welch, Bloomington

Sponsor: Sen. Patricia Miller, Indianapolis

Requires that a pregnant woman be tested for HIV during pregnancy or at the time of delivery unless she refuses. Requires that a pregnant woman's refusal to consent to the test be documented in the woman's medical records. Requires a pregnant woman who refuses to consent to the test to acknowledge that she: (1) received the required counseling and information; and (2) refuses to consent to the test. Specifies certain information regarding HIV testing, transmission, prevention, and treatment that must be provided to a pregnant woman. Requires that information regarding the HIV testing status of a pregnant woman be included on the confidential part of the birth or stillbirth certificate. Makes the results of the tests confidential. Requires the Indiana State Department of Health to distribute written materials explaining treatment options for individuals who have a positive HIV test. Repeals a provision concerning voluntary HIV testing for pregnant women and a provision containing an obsolete definition. Latest action: 05/08/2003 H: Governor Signed

[tinymich.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure that this is already existing law in Singapore, where I'm (unfortunately, I sometimes think) from. When the few people who dared tried to protest, they were told, what are you, an evil person who WANTS babies to get AIDS?

I actually think that ours is worse, because IIRC, the pregnant women are *not* allowed to even refuse the test.