"Unauthorized Reproduction?" "Gestational Certificates?" Legal "Petitions for Parentage?" No, it's not something out of
The Handmaid's Tale, or a reference to a now-defunct European fascist regime.
It's the focus of a new law currently being drafted by Republican lawmakers in Indiana, seeking to limit fertility treatments solely to married women who have successfully petitioned the court for state authorization.
The driving force behind the bill is Republican State Senator Patricia Miller, chair of the state senate Health Finance Commission.
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.
The consequences for "reproduction" without the certificate?
As the draft of the new law reads now, an intended parent "who knowingly or willingly participates in an artificial reproduction procedure" without court approval, "commits unauthorized reproduction, a Class B misdemeanor." The criminal charges will be the same for physicians who commit "unauthorized practice of artificial reproduction."
You can view the draft legislation here [PDF]. For a list of the state senators that make up the Health Finance Commission, see here.
Props to Laura McPhee at NUVO for breaking this story, and to this previous diary from Monday -- which I missed completely -- by IndianaGreen. Also see here.
Update [2005-10-5 21:3:4 by Hunter]: Miller drops the bill (props to BillyZoom):
A controversial proposed bill to prohibit gays, lesbians and single people from using medical procedures to become pregnant has been dropped by its legislative sponsor.
State Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, issued a one-sentence statement this afternoon saying: “The issue has become more complex than anticipated and will be withdrawn from consideration by the Health Finance Commission.”
Here's where I'm supposed to say "heh".