Utah’s Senate has taken an uncomfortable step by passing HB0012, a bill that will criminalize any “intentional, knowing or reckless act of the woman” who is pregnant that results in the death of an unborn child.
The wording is intended to address the issue of illegal and/or unintentional abortion acts that result in death. This is proving to be something of a hot-button issue for many people, understandably. The biggest question, for better of worse, that has been brought forth is whether the term “reckless” should be included in the bill as an identifying factor for criminal homicide.
What is the legal definition of reckless?
According to legal dictionaries, it is written as “in both negligence and criminal cases, careless to the point of being heedless of the consequences.”
When addressing issues like reckless driving, we can see where this definition comes from and how it could be applied. When discussing the death of an unborn child, there are worries that it could create a large gray area.
Utah Democratic Sen. Luz Robles brought this issue to the attention of her peers and the writers of the bill in the hopes of amending the wording. The concerns that were brought forth included whether or not this new application of the term “reckless” could be seen as a way to prosecute women who remain in abusive situations that lead to miscarriages.
These concerns were noted, but no changes were made. Interestingly, the bill has not made stipulations for actions to take against others (such as the fathers) in the event of an unintentional illegal abortion. Previously passed, there are provisions for intentional actions in this realm. While medically conducted abortions are legal in the state of Utah, the HB0012 does not take into consideration the needs of those who may not be able to afford such procedures.
The bill is currently on the desk of the governor of Utah, Gary Herbert, awaiting finalization. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Utah has publicized a letter to Gov. Herbert in an effort to illustrate a need for vetoing the bill.
The letter attempts to highlight the point that for many women who do not have access to health care, the bill will effectively criminalize them regardless of what they do.
Examples included women accidentally utilizing a physician who did not accurately represent his qualifications or a woman with a substance abuse problem who was not capable of seeking prenatal care. The ACLU states that under the wording of the bill that both cases could now be criminal cases.
This bill is something of an affront to the rights of women and mothers. I am in no way encouraging people to seek out pregnancy termination from anyone other than a physician, just to be clear.
However, this bill has the potential to attack women for accidental or unintentional behaviors that result in pregnancy termination.
There are an overabundance of hypothetical situations in which this could turn very dark, very quickly. What about forgetting to wear a seatbelt? What about just missing that crosswalk sign?
The real world presents too many situations in which this bill could hurt more women than it would help unborn children.
While the situation that led to this bill is terrible (a 17-year-old girl paid someone to beat her until her pregnancy had been terminated), the resulting implications of this bill’s passing could prove worse yet.
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