Hellobee Boards

This is going to harm so many women that will stay home instead of going to a hospital for care. This sickens me.

Infuriating

No mention of who is going to pay for these additional medical procedures....

@Adira: There is no way insurance will cover this, insurance does not cover any costs after death for children and adults. This is going to be VERY expensive. Cremation fees alone are over $1000, and many women who have abortions have significant financial concerns, which of course is the point of the bill - make it even more expensive to have an abortion so you'll be financially forced to keep the baby.

I wonder how long before this is being contested in the courts, hopefully quickly before it goes into effect. It's very intellectually inconsistent because fetus that passes from natural abortions aren't subject to cremation/burial "“We made certain changes to the rules along the way, including adding language to make clear that these rules don’t apply to miscarriages or abortions that occur at home..." - why not? the fetuses are no different and why one "deserves" a burial and the other doesn't makes no sense.

I don't even know what to say...... there are no words.

This is so infuriating. Aside from the points @Ms.Badger has made, they're not taking into consideration those who have D&Cs because their body isn't miscarrying naturally. I had 2 D&Cs because my body wasn't recognizing there was no baby, and I would have had to pay for the burial of both fetuses. BOTH were very wanted, so yes, let's add insult to injury and force me to dish out more money to bury the baby that I wanted so desperately.

I'm not someone who would personally get an abortion, but the fact that they're doing this to others who have that choice to shame them is just infuriating.

So if you have a missed miscarriage and need a d and c?? All of this is utter crap.

@MamaG: Group cremations for people are currently illegal and the lawmakers in this case have no motivation to change that. This policy is meant to be a punishment for choosing abortion (I'm of course reading between the lines, they've never SAID this is the reason).

From what I've read there is nothing that would exclude miscarriages that require D&C, so, yes, I believe anyone in Texas that requires a D&C would need to bury or cremate the fetus. Although, the articles seem to indicate the the abortion facilities and hospitals would pay for cremation/burial but that seems very strange to be as that is inconsistent with cremation/burial for children and adults

D&C's are definitely covered in this.

"Human materials removed during surgery, labor and delivery, autopsy, embalming, or biopsy"

@Ms.Badger: No, the placenta falls under another section.

" (iii)any other tissues, including placenta, umbilical cord and gestational sac:
(I)grinding and discharging to a sanitary sewer system;
(II)incineration followed by deposition of the residue in a sanitary landfill;
(III)steam disinfection followed by interment;
(IV)interment;
(V)moist heat disinfection followed by deposition in a sanitary landfill;
(VI)chlorine disinfection/maceration followed by deposition in a sanitary landfill; or
(VII)an approved alternate treatment process, provided that the process renders the item as unrecognizable, followed by deposition in a sanitary landfill."

ETA: Sorry, this was all unclear. My first quote was related to human material in general and how they were gathered, just to indicate that D&Cs would be included. Under that section is "(i)fetal tissue" which requires burial, and also "(ii)blood and body fluids," and "(iii)any other tissues, including placenta, umbilical cord and gestational sac"

There's no way this makes it past the courts... I'm going to keep repeating that to myself while I hug my knees and rock in a corner.

@Adira: This definitely covers a D&C... so if you don't naturally miscarry, then you either have to pay for burial or cremation, or carry around your dead baby until you spontaneously miscarry. I think (hope) that's how this all comes crashing down, no way can they force that.

This is terrible, but I can't say that I'm very surprised. I think this is just the first of many terrible laws that will be passed in the next 4 years. Maybe at some point, more than 50% of the American population will see that their freedoms are being taken away and will vote for changes in office. Until then, all we can do is keep fighting this stuff, keep writing reps and senators, and keep being vocal.

Deplorable. My heart aches for people who would be affected by this.

Does anyone have resources for places we could donate to support abortion rights in Texas?

What in the actual fuck?!?!?!?!

I used to want to move out of California for financial reasons. Now I'm afraid to live anywhere else while I have daughters. I'm actually even afraid to visit my cousins who live in other states while pregnant in case I end up miscarrying in their state. Everyone I know thinks I'm crazy but I just don't want to chance it.

@mamafern: I'm in Dallas, and am most familiar with Planned Parenthood as an abortion provider for low-moderate income women. The other providers I know of are all private and therefore $. I did some searching this afternoon to learn more about who else is serving the state....

Planned Parenthood Greater Texas serves Dallas, Ft Worth, Austin, and Waco. They also do some advocacy work. Of course, there are other PP locations in other cities too. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-greater-texas

On the legal/advocacy side, NARAL has a texas chapter - prochoicetexas.org

I just learned about the Texas Freedom Network via a link on the NARAL site... http://tfn.org/mission/ I don't know much but it looks interesting and covers a lot of issues here (school textbook content is a big one! And here is an article on sex ed: http://tfn.org/will-texas-schools-use-squirrels-teach-sex-education/)

The Texas Equal Access Fund provides financial assistance to low-income people who want an abortion and can't afford it. http://www.teafund.org/

Janes Due Process is a nonprofit that "ensures legal representation for pregnant minors in Texas." http://janesdueprocess.org/

@MrsLonghorn: Thank you so much for that information.

@Mrs. Sunshine: I'm so sorry you went through that. Thank goodness you weren't forced into a situation like what's being proposed now. It's already hard enough.

How does this improve women's health? It doesn't. What does this accomplish? Nothing. A bunch of men without any healthcare training get to decide what happens to women in their most venerable moments. It's bullshit.

It's pathetic that we even have to think about this.

I can only speak from my experience, as our TFMR was a labor and delivery in a hospital. The staff was all extremely supportive. But I live in a progressive area in Maine, so who knows how people in other states are treated. Cremation/burial/arranging for our son's remains were discussed off the bat. It was extremely upsetting and emotional for both me and my husband. The options were (1) hospital disposes of remains (but, not a burial or cremation as this law would require) or (2) arrange for private burial or cremation. We chose to arrange for cremation. But, the hospital could not coordinate it. They give you a list of funeral homes and you have to call them and discuss the options with them. All while you're in the hospital. Thankfully, my husband did that on our behalf, because I was too emotional and could barely see straight let alone have a normal conversation with someone about something like this. The day after our termination, we physically had to go to the funeral home and fill out paperwork. Technically, the funeral home requires you to view your kin before they can sign off on the paperwork. Our funeral director said "he wouldn't put us through that" after all that we had been through. (We had already seen and held our son...but we had also already said goodbye...and having to see him again in a cold little box in a funeral home would have been terrible). We picked out an urn. The funeral parlor did not charge us for the cremation under the circumstances (and, from speaking with other women who have ended wanted pregnancies, this seems like a courtesy that is often extended). It would have cost several thousand dollars otherwise. We only paid for the urn. Roughly a week later, the funeral director called my husband when the remains were ready to be picked up. Also a very difficult and depressing day for us.

While I am glad that we chose the path of cremation (and our son's remains are always with us), this is all what we CHOSE to do. It was a terribly emotional and traumatic experience and I can't imagine being forced to go through that process (on top of an already devastating termination) if it was not our choice to cremate.

I am so sad for women who are already in a terrible situation who will now be faced with yet another obstacle that does nothing to further women's health and instead only serves to create another barrier to accessing choice.

What!?!?!? Seriously. This is complete bs. I am so shocked and appalled at the direction this country is turining!