Tennessee wants to require post-abortion death certificates
This is just lovely. Proposed legislation in Tennessee would require death certificates for aborted fetuses—creating public records that identify women who have had abortions.
Rep. Stacey Campfield, a Republican, said his bill would provide a way to track how many abortions are performed. He predicted it would pass in the Republican-controlled Senate but would have a hard time making it through the Democratic House.
The thing is, the number of abortions performed is already reported to the state’s Office of Vital Records. So the only purpose of this bill is to identify women having abortions—it would even include their social security numbers!
House Judiciary Chairman Rob Briley called this "the most preposterous bill I've seen." No fucking joke.
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Maybe the State of Tennessee can really go for baroque and spring for one of these funerals (entirely SFW, 3:28 mark).
Are they issuing birth certificates as well? Can the parents file for a dependent tax deduction? Insane.
They really have to be kidding. Right? Right? I mean, no one would actually support this shit?
...but would have a hard time making it through the Democratic House.
yet another great example of why I vote for Democrats.
Fred Vincy raises a great point. Can you issue a death certificate for someone who's never been born?
Conception certificates, anyone? $$$!
Clearly they should also require any woman who has had a miscarriage to march down to the records office and file a death certificate as well. I guess we can include a 24-hour grace period if she's bleeding and grieving. After all, even broken baby incubators have feelings.
Is it possible to have a medical procedure anonymously, if you're paying cash and not using insurance?
Of course, that's a crap workaround for a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place, but I was just curious.
After all, even broken baby incubators have feelings.
cycles, thanks for making me snort tea through my nose!
:)
They can pass this law if they want; it will promptly be challenged in federal court, under federal law. The plaintiffs will get an injunction, and then they will win the case, and the law will never go into effect.
It's a clear violation of HIPAA and I don't know what else. It's an empty political gesture, and they know it.
I'm amazed that you'd even have to present your Social Security Card to have an abortion.
They really have to be kidding. Right? Right? I mean, no one would actually support this shit?
Give us Tennesseeans a little more credit. ^_^ According to the views on this page, most people think it's a dumb idea.
This bill has no chance of passing. It’s the 'brainchild’ of one lone wacko lawmaker.
Rep. Campfield, also known as Rep. X, can’t get bills passed so he gets press for his looney ideas.
This is the same attention-starved man who got international press for calling the Black Caucus more racist than the KKK because they wouldn’t let his Republican white ass join.
I’m amazed at how much press he’s gotten on this one. I guess that’s what it takes these days to get media attention, crazy ideas.
Again, the bill is a joke. Despite what you may think about Tennessee, the House is controlled by rational and pro choice Democrats (the Senate is another story).
http://guerillawomentn.blogspot.com/2007/02/rep-stacey-campfield-r-is-joke.html
In order to die, don't you have to be born first?
"Is it possible to have a medical procedure anonymously, if you're paying cash and not using insurance?"
Are you serious? I understand completely, but still. An abortion is a serious medical procedure that absolutely must go on your records so that doctors treating you will know. Keeping medical records sealed is the solution, not anonymous procedures.
Anything they can do to harass....
Bearcat, I don't think every doctor you see has to know you've had an abortion. There's probably a record of mine at the clinic (they took my universal health card) but my GP doesn't know about it. It's only a day surgery and it doesn't really figure into my health anymore.
I can see the clinic keeping records, but talking Social Security is just bizarre actually. They can use to to verify name I suppose, but no organization should take down more personal information than what they need to do their business or provide their service. There's no functional reason I can see (though I'm a foreigner) for a clinic to take down a Social Security number, especially when there's no government agency to bill.
Edo: yet another great example of why I vote for Democrats.
- Unfortunately, our most liberal Democrats are not all that liberal.
Malaika, a fellow Tennesseean. Awesome. I thought Tom Head was the only Southerner.
Even a lot of my staunchly pro-life friends think this is nuts. It's got no chance.
but talking Social Security is just bizarre actually. They can use to to verify name I suppose
Well, this is a chestnut by now, but technically it's illegal to use SSNs for identification purposes. Not that this stops, oh, anyone.
Campfield is known around Knoxville as being more than a little bit crazy, and I haven't actually heard anyone here say that they support it- or even take it seriously.
"Malaika, a fellow Tennesseean. Awesome. I thought Tom Head was the only Southerner."
I'm a Southerner, too. But Southern Light-- I'm Floridian. No 'accent', no nothing. A lot of old people, though. And very bad drivers. But I suppose that's everywhere, eh?
As far as this bill goes, it's all ridiculous.
"An abortion is a serious medical procedure that absolutely must go on your records so that doctors treating you will know. Keeping medical records sealed is the solution, not anonymous procedures."
No, they don't go on record. Doctors don't know unless you tell them.
There are lots of Southerners here besides Tom Head.
Put it this way. You get pregnant, search frantically for the nearest abortion provider that may be hours away in a remote town. No one will know except that health center. They will keep records of you but no one else will.