Providing Dignity And Validation Or Attacking Abortion Rights - The Case Of The Missing Angels

MayorBob.

Posted to Politics on Tue May 22, 2007 at 03:21:20 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

The numbers tell us that around 25,000 pregnancies will end in stillbirths in the US.  For most of the parents who must accept that life's lottery dealt them a dead fetus to bury, the feelings of frustration and loss are palpable.  Because, up until recently, the only memorial they have to the life lost is a death certificate for the fetus.  There is a move afoot to change that with the law in some states saying that a birth (of sorts) did occur.  But, there is a controversy brewing over this.  Because, where some view it as recognition of the stillborn fetus as more than a lifeless fetus, providing a bit of comfort to grieving parents, is seen by others as a backdoor attack on abortion rights.

The issue is the state's issuance of a birth certificate, in addition to a death certificate, whenever a stillbirth occurs.  In the words of Joanne Cacciatore, an Arizona woman who suffered a stillbirth 13 years ago, "it's dignity and validation ... the same reason why we want things like marriage licenses and baptismal certificates."  She started the movement in Arizona to enact a Missing Angels law which resulted in her receiving a birth certificate for her daughter Cheyenne.  Since Arizona's enaction of the first Missing Angels law in 2001, 18 other states have enacted their own versions and 7 others have legislation pending.

The controversy comes about because abortion rights advocates see the potential for turning a simple act of commemoration, like issuing a stillbirth birth certificate into an all out attack on abortion rights.  The main point, as some see it, is that any success at conferring personhood upon a fetus could ultimately threaten a mother's right to determine whether to carry a fetus to term or not.  New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who just officially entered the Democratic Party presidential sweepstakes, recently vetoed a Missing Angel bill in his state.  His contention was that issuing a birth and a death certificate to mark a still birth could lead to "confusion and fraud."  But supporters of Missing Angels legislation say that the certificates issued under the law clearly indicate that no live birth ever occurred.

In California, one of the states considering a Missing Angel bill, the legislation is opposed by opposed by Planned Parenthood, which contends "impacts of this complicated bill are too significant" to favor a rush to pass.  Obstetricians and gynecologists are likewise averse to the bill as it may muddy the whole area of fetal death and abortion.  This doesn't mean kneejerk opposition to Missing Angel legislation; rather it means lawmakers have to be very careful how they craft the laws.  In the words of Roger Evans, a lawyer for Planned Parenthood, "as long as these laws are medically accurate, and the certificates are optional and commemorative, they're a way to recognize that loss."