I’m from a fairly conservative background and even I don’t get this one.
A Virginia state representative, John Cosgrove, has introduced legislation that would require women to report all miscarriages within 12 hours. ALL miscarriages…within TWELVE hours. Link
or, the actual text of the bill
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. [Emphasis NOT mine]
What is the purpose of this? I get the on-our-way-to-banning-abortion tack to the Bill, but the Bill itself is a bit… uhm.. retarded. Natural miscarriages are, unfortunately, not that uncommon. They’re also damned traumatic. Why anyone sees the need to add more trauma by requiring a legal requirement to report it is bordering on insane. And not hyperbolic insanity either; there is a serious disconnect in this requirement, or even coming to this conclusion.
It does open up the possibility of lots of other mandatory reporting, though. Ah, the comedy gold-mine that could becoming. Class A felony for not reporting a cut made by knife (don’t skip in the kitchen!), 90 days for failing to report a nosebleed (hey, you could be on cocaine), make sure you go to gesundheit.gov every time you sneeze (their traffic exceeds even Slashot).
Apparently Fark needs a “Virginia” tag.
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