House Advances Bill to Punish Forced Miscarriages

RICHMOND, Feb. 5 -- The Virginia House of Delegates gave tentative approval Monday to a bill to make it a felony for a woman to cause her own miscarriage but rejected a proposal to give fertilized eggs and fetuses the "right to enjoyment of life."

With the legislative session nearing its midpoint, the House considered a half-dozen bills aimed at restricting abortion or cracking down on people who harm fetuses.

In a flurry of votes, the House gave preliminary approved to a bill that would require doctors to give women the option of viewing an ultrasound before an abortion. It also agreed to require doctors to give women information about how anesthesia can be provided to a fetus during the procedure.

Two bills that would make it a crime to force a miscarriage received preliminary approval in the House. Under one, a person other than the mother could be charged with involuntary manslaughter for causing a miscarriage. Under the other, a woman who causes her own miscarriage could be charged with a felony and face up to 10 years in prison. The legislation would not outlaw the morning-after pill.

Final votes on the abortion bills are scheduled for today. If approved, the bills go to the Senate, which has been hesitant in recent years to address abortion-related issues. Even so, abortion rights supporters say they worry that Virginia is getting closer to enacting a ban on abortion.

Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) pushed a bill this year to outlaw most abortions in Virginia if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Courts of Justice Committee never acted on it.

But Marshall succeeded in getting to the House floor the bill to protect fertilized eggs and fetuses, which abortion rights advocates say would have amounted to a state ban on abortion. Last week, the Privileges and Elections Committee voted 12 to 7 to approve the legislation, which says that "life begins at the moment of fertilization" so the "Constitution of Virginia is vested in each . . . human being from the moment of fertilization."

When the bill came up for debate Monday, Republican leaders tried to have it sent back to committee. Besides avoiding a contentious floor debate, they hoped to shield some delegates from having to take a recorded vote on the issue. Although antiabortion activists are a critical part of the Republican Party's political base, a 2005 Washington Post poll indicated that most Virginia voters support keeping abortion legal.

But Democrats, who see protecting abortion rights as a possible issue in this year's legislative elections, joined a dozen conservative Republicans to defeat the motion to return it to committee. Democrats then forced a recorded vote on the bill, which was defeated 53 to 43.

There was also a spirited debate over the proposal to charge a woman with a felony if she causes her own miscarriage.

Del. S. Chris Jones (R-Suffolk), the sponsor of the bill, said the legislation is aimed at protecting fetuses that are harmed during the late stages of pregnancy. He cited a Suffolk case in which a woman caused a miscarriage the day before she was scheduled to give birth. "If she would have taken it and abandoned it and it would have died, she would have been charged," Jones said.

But Del. Vivian E. Watts (D-Fairfax) noted that the legislation applies to all pregnant women, regardless of the stage of their pregnancies. Watts said a young woman will sometimes cause herself to miscarry because she is too afraid to talk to her parents about an abortion.

"What you got before you," Watts said, "is a situation where a female who may be a month or two pregnant, her grandmother tells her 'whatever,' her friends tell her 'whatever' . . . and she decides to produce an abortion, and we are going to penalize her with a felony?"