This week Hello Ladies is observing “Ignorant Male Legislator Week.” Yesterday, we took note of Virginia Delegate Robert G. Marshall, and his outrageous comments about disabled children and abortion.
Today, we focus on Rep. Carl Wimmer of Utah, who sponsored bill HB12 which ”amends provisions of the Utah Criminal Code to describe the difference between abortion and criminal homicide of an unborn child and to remove prohibitions prosecution of a woman for killing an unborn child or committing criminal homicide of an unborn child.”
Here’s the problem. The bill states, “A person commits criminal homicide if the person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, with criminal negligence, or acting with a mental state otherwise specified in the statute defining the offense, causes the death of another human being, including an unborn child at any stage of its development.”
Define “recklessly.” This bill could turn women who have miscarriages into murder suspects. Take me, for example. I slipped on the ice when I was pregnant. Was leaving my house between November and March reckless? I was in a fender bender when I was pregnant. Was driving reckless? I ate a salad with gorgonzola cheese in it when I was pregnant. Was eating one serving of blue-veined cheese reckless? If I had miscarried during that pregnancy, should I have been prosecuted? Will miscarriage become the new rape? Blame the woman and put her on trial for her poor choices and bad behavior?
It’s not that far-fetched. We’ve already seen a case where a woman was jailed for falling down the stairs while pregnant. Then there is Samantha Burton who was ordered by the court to remain in the hospital while pregnant. And don’t forget the woman who was jailed for being pregnant and HIV positive.
Wimmer also sponsored HB200, informed consent legislation that makes ultraounds available to women prior to having an abortion. Too bad he didn’t work to make more ultrasounds available to women as part of their prentatal care.
This is the same Wimmer who opposed a ban on cell phone use by under-18 drivers. On that topic he was quoted in The Salt Lake Tribune as saying, ”Government does not need to mandate every good idea…We are a free people.”
Men like Carl Wimmer claim to value human life. Sure they do, as long as that life doesn’t belong to a woman who has already been born.
So, who should we feature tomorrow?
