{"id":246389,"date":"2021-06-04T09:50:23","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T14:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=246389"},"modified":"2021-06-03T18:59:30","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T23:59:30","slug":"pennsylvania-not-fine-miscarriages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/pennsylvania-not-fine-miscarriages\/","title":{"rendered":"No, Pennsylvania legislation would not fine women for miscarriages"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(Secular Pro-Life<\/a>) — On January 11, 2021, Pennsylvania Representative Francis Ryan reintroduced the\u00a0Final Disposition of Fetal Remains Act<\/a>\u00a0(House Bill No. 118) to The General Assembly of Pennsylvania.[1] He previously introduced it to the committee on health in\u00a0September 2019<\/a>.[2] This three-page legislation clarifies a few aspects on recording fetal demise and\u00a0handling fetal remains after sixteen weeks<\/a>[3] of gestation.<\/p>\n

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It addresses the duties of health care facilities in relation to proper disposition of fetal remains in that they must record the fetal death in accordance with the\u00a0Vital Statistics Law of 1953<\/a>[4] and arrange for the cremation (allowing for simultaneous) or burial under\u00a028 Pa. Code, Ch. 1<\/a>[5]. It also provides the option for a parent to select a different location for final disposition and become responsible for the costs of such selection. A violation of proper disposal and recording is subject to penalties under Article IX of the Vital Statistics Law of 1953.<\/p>\n

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Though that is all the legislation addresses, it hasn\u2019t stopped the manufacturing of controversy. Democratic US Senate candidate Valerie Arkoosh\u00a0claimed on her Twitter account<\/a>\u00a0that this legislation would fine women who miscarry and force them to fill out the state\u2019s application for fetal death certificates.[6]<\/p>\n

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These claims are false. There is no fine, and one would only need to submit the application if ordering copies of the certificate itself for personal records. Since\u00a0Arkoosh is an obstetric anesthesiologist<\/a>[7], it is difficult to believe this was an honest misunderstanding, rather than a purposeful fundraising ruse. A brief look at the quote tweets reveals many celebrities, politicians, and media personalities spreading the deception as confirmation of their biases, rather than bothering to verify the truth of it.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0DEBUNKED: Mainstream media lies about the goals of pro-life laws<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Though this legislation has been thrust into the abortion debate for having passing similarities to the fetal disposal sections of\u00a0Indiana\u2019s Public Laws 115-2015<\/a>[8] (upheld in\u00a0Box v. Planned Parenthood<\/a><\/em>[9]), the Pennsylvania act never once mentions induced abortions. The purpose of this legislation is, rather, to help parents obtain the remains of their deceased unborn children \u2014 something that is often a struggle for grieving families, particularly for deaths before twenty weeks gestation. Absent clear laws on the procedures\u00a0in many US states<\/a>\u00a0for parents to request the remains[10], hospital staff can be left confused on how to handle them and end up\u00a0disposing those remains as medical waste<\/a>[11] or\u00a0keeping them in storage<\/a>[12]. This results in further pain for the families, left with no tangible proof of the short existence of the lost child. Ratification of this legislation may provide the means to help loss parents at a time when it is needed the most.<\/p>\n

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[Read SPL’s related article –\u00a0Our cultural gaslighting of women who miscarry before 20 weeks<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

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References:<\/p>\n

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  1. The General Assembly of Pennsylvania, House Bill No. 118. (Pa., 2021)\u00a0https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/CFDOCS\/Legis\/PN\/Public\/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2021&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=0118&pn=0086<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. The General Assembly of Pennsylvania, House Bill No. 1890. (Pa., 2019)\u00a0https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/CFDOCS\/Legis\/PN\/Public\/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2019&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=1890&pn=2623<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Public Laws of 1953, No. 66, \u201cVital Statistics Law of 1953,\u201d \u00a7105(4) (Pa., 1953)\u00a0https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/2027\/uc1.b3830921?urlappend=%3Bseq=310<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Public Laws of 1953, No. 66. Id.\u00a0https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/2027\/uc1.b3830921?urlappend=%3Bseq=308<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Pennsylvania Code, Title 28, Ch. 1 (Pa., 1959, 1979)\u00a0https:\/\/www.pacodeandbulletin.gov\/Display\/pacode?file=\/secure\/pacode\/data\/028\/chapter1\/chap1toc.html&d=<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Arkoosh, Valerie. Twitter, @ValArkooshPA. May 25, 2021.\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/valarkooshpa\/status\/1397267608236265473?s=21<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Lachman, Samantha. \u201cPhiladelphia Doctor Val Arkoosh Touts Obamacare in Campaign for House,\u201d HuffPost. \u00a0Feb 24, 2014.\u00a0https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/valerie-arkoosh-congress-_n_4848731<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Public Laws 113-2015, Senate Bill 329 (Ind., 2015)\u00a0http:\/\/iga.in.gov\/legislative\/2015\/bills\/senate\/329<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. Kristina Box, et al. v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky (587 US ___, 2019)\u00a0https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/18pdf\/18-483_3d9g.pdf<\/a><\/li>\n
  10. \u201dState Laws,\u201d Heaven\u2019s Gain Ministries. 2014?\u00a0https:\/\/heavensgain.org\/state-laws\/<\/a><\/li>\n
  11. Eisner, Robin. \u201cShould Parents Bury Miscarriage Remains?,\u201d ABC News. \u00a0January 6, 2006.\u00a0https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Health\/story?id=117867<\/a><\/li>\n
  12. Wible, Pamela, MD. \u201cWhat Happens to All the Miscarriages?,\u201d KevinMD.com. August 6, 2013.\u00a0https:\/\/www.kevinmd.com\/blgo\/2013\/08\/miscarriages.html<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Editor’s Note: This article was originally published at Secular Pro-Life<\/a> and is reprinted here with permission.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/i><\/b><\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    (Secular Pro-Life) — On January 11, 2021, Pennsylvania Representative Francis Ryan reintroduced the\u00a0Final Disposition of Fetal Remains Act\u00a0(House Bill No. 118) to The General Assembly of Pennsylvania.[1] He previously introduced it to the committee on health in\u00a0September 2019.[2] This three-page legislation clarifies a few aspects on recording fetal demise and\u00a0handling fetal remains after sixteen weeks[3] […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":814,"featured_media":225295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7077,3473,11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNo, Pennsylvania legislation would not fine women for miscarriages<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Recent claims that a Pennsylvania law will fine women for miscarriages are false. 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