"unauthorized reproduction" - and we're not talking copyrights

[mountain_laurel]

legislation is being drafted in Indiana that would make it a crime for an unmarried woman to become pregnant using in vitro fertilization, sperm donation, etc. An upcoming article, which will be published in the Indiananapolis magazine NUVO, explains it thusly:

According to a draft of the recommended change in state law, every woman in Indiana seeking to become a mother through assisted reproduction therapy such as in vitro fertilization, sperm donation, and egg donation, must first file for a "petition for parentage" in their local county probate court.

Only women who are married will be considered for the "gestational certificate" that must be presented to any doctor who facilitates the pregnancy. Further, the "gestational certificate" will only be given to married couples that successfully complete the same screening process currently required by law of adoptive parents.

if this doesn't scare the shit out of you, you need to read it again:

the "gestational certificate" will only be given to married couples that successfully complete the same screening process currently required by law of adoptive parents

this isn't "for the children." this is eugenics, plain and simple. this would make it illegal for a single woman without a handy sex partner to have a child. it would make it illegal for an unmarried couple with fertility problems to have a child. it would make it illegal for a gay couple to have a child. it would make it illegal for married couples who are poor to have a child. this is one step away from total state-sponsored eugenics.

believe me, if you're thinking you sometimes wish a license was required to reproduce, i'm with you. but realistically, we cannot allow that to happen. think of the repercussions. if you can do that without actually pissing yourself. me, i'm going to start writing letters now.

i mean, holy shit.

addendum: this legislation has been dropped, apparently. the draft of the legislation has been deleted since i last looked at it, only a half-hour ago. fuckin' A.

but what does it say about the political climate of this country that the Health Finance Commission of Indiana sat down and wrote this up? and actually thought they could get away with it?

Comments

[dianec42.livejournal.com]

Apparently this has been smacked down already. See here.

Wasn't it also Indiana that tried to pass a law setting pi equal to 3?

[dawn-guy.livejournal.com]

I don't have a problem with IVF and the like being treated like adoption. However, I have a larger problem with adoption (and by extension fertility treatments) being denied to people based on sexual orientation, marital status, race, religion or (where it doesn't affect the ability of the adoptive parents to provide for the needs of child) financial means.

It would be nice if the "gestational certificate" fallout resulted in broader access to adoption. It would also be nice if everyone could have free ice cream for lunch and not get a tummy ache.

[neoliminal.livejournal.com]

To quote from the six pack bible: "If thou baby ain't from married sex, it ain't got no soul and it beith the work of Satan" Book of Bud verse 13:24

a moment of pedantry

[eejitalmuppet.livejournal.com]

Surely "thine baby". Then again, it was the Book of Bud

Re: a moment of pedantry

[dianec42.livejournal.com]

I thought it would be "thy baby", "thine" being reserved for cases where the following word starts with a vowel.

But I agree that anything called "the six-pack bible" would likely ignore such niceties.

Re: a moment of pedantry

[eejitalmuppet.livejournal.com]

It's a fair cop. How about "thine infant", or "thy get"?

Re: a moment of pedantry

[nothings.livejournal.com]

Surely "thee/thy/thine" follows the pattern of "me/my/mine": Thy baby is thine.

Re: a moment of pedantry

[merde.livejournal.com]

i have nothing to add except that i'm utterly delighted people are arguing over this in my lj.

Re: a moment of pedantry

[dianec42.livejournal.com]

It's a good job really. It doesn't look like we're going to be finished any time soon. (-:

Re: a moment of pedantry

[nothings.livejournal.com]

Also, some time after making this post, I ran a search on UMCP just to see if there was anyone I knew, and said "hey wait, I just saw that username a second ago". And then you were in Somerville at some point. I guess the Maryland thing isn't that much of a small world since it's through merde.

Re: a moment of pedantry

[dianec42.livejournal.com]

Not quite... think "Drink to me only with thine eyes" and contemplate how weird and dumb "thy eyes" would sound in this context.

Re: a moment of pedantry

[nothings.livejournal.com]

Isn't "mine" used in the same way, but only archaically (people would raise theirne eyes if you used it that way today)?

So the question is how archaic is the Book of Bud.

Re: a moment of pedantry

[dianec42.livejournal.com]

I think if you're using "thy" and "thine" it's definitionally archaic. This still leaves open the question of how pedantic is our Bud. (-:

Re: a moment of pedantry

[nothings.livejournal.com]

Irrelevant now, but grr, I finally thought of the example I was trying to come up with for "mine", which for some reason wasn't popping into my head:

"Mine eyes have seen the glory..."

[scothen-krau.livejournal.com]

See, in the larger sense, this sort of idiocy is a good thing - the radical Christian Right is imploding in on itself, right on cue.