Earlier today I
posted a diary about possible wingnut shadiness and a bill dealing with fetal death reporting in Minnesota. Fellow Kossacks helped me to wade through the language and see that the bill may be attempting to define a "stillbirth" (as opposed to a miscarriage) as a fetus at 20 weeks of gestation.
I emailed the bill's author this morning to find out more about her intentions. My email and her response are below the fold.
Me:
Dear Rep. Klinzing,
I am writing with a question about HF947, which provides for a record of stillbirths if the parents wish to have this recorded. I would
like to know why fetal deaths are required to be reported under Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 144.222 and what the state does with
the information. I am concerned about a situation where a miscarriage occurs without medical supervision - what kind of penalties would a woman be subject to if she failed to report a miscarriage within five days? What are the benefits of creating a record of stillbirth as
outlined in HF947?
Thank you for your time in addressing my concerns and for your service
as a legislator.
Sincerely,
kaelamantis
St. Paul, MN
Her response:
Dear kaelamantis,
The benefits of this legislation is for the parents who recognize this event in their lives as a birth process as well as a death. Currently,
our state law only recognizes the death of the baby, yet to the parents it was up to 9 months of more than just a death. Many states have passed
this legislation to recognize the stillbirth as well as the death of the child, including Wisconsin, whose law we've modelled this after.
Our society has a long way to go in coming to terms with infant death and helping the grieving parents. Sweeping the birth event under the rug
and only recognizing the death does not help grieving parents and families of these children. It is a benefit to families' mental and
emotional well being (and that of society's) to allow the families to get a stillbirth record if they so choose.
I am looking into the circumstance you brought up for reporting a miscarriage. It is not my intention for unreported miscarriages to be
regulated by this legislation. In fact, the stillbirth record is intended to be optional for the families.
Thanks for you inquiry.
Sincerely,
Karen Klinzing
State Representative
District 56B--Woodbury & Landfall
539 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
St. Paul, MN 55155-1298
(651) 296-1147
So what do we think? Is this still worth pursuing, a la Maura in VA? Is Rep. Klinzing's answer satisfactory?