Call to Action!

During my morning perusal of blogs, I came across this and this, both of which link to this. As a woman, and one who has suffered a loss, I find this utterly appalling. During an IM conversation with one of my clever and brilliant friends, he pointed out several things. The first is that this is ALREADY a law, and the appalling section of the bill is a proposed amendment. A BILL to amend and reenact § 32.1-264 of the Code of Virginia, relating to reports of fetal deaths; penalty. The proposed amendment: When a fetal death occurs without medical attendance, it shall be the woman's responsibility to report the death to the law-enforcement agency in the jurisdiction of which the delivery occurs within 12 hours after the delivery. A violation of this section shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. (This is what I get for merely skimming the newfound appalling legislative action; not realizing it's an amendment.) Now, this proposed amended law states that the custodian of the fetal material is the one responsible for reporting it. So, perhaps, if this horrendous amendment does become law, the women of Virginia could consider this: Should the horror of a miscarriage befall you, you have my deepest sympathy. However, perhaps you could, in the your darkest hour of grief, make the journey to the home of Mr. Cosgrove, along with your "fetal material" and deliver it directly to him, along with the requisite paperwork. If you feel strong enough, as overwrought and amped-up on pregnancy hormones as you may be, perhaps you could tell HIM your heartrending story and ask him to fill out your requisite report. I wonder if he'll be anymore comfortable and/or compassionate in hearing your tale than the members of the various Virginia law enforcement departments that might be faced with such an interview. I am sure the prospect of this fills those officers with as much horror as the amended bill evokes from me. If you simply haven't healed enough and aren't ready to talk about it within the mandated 12-hour window, feel free leave your "fetal material" on the front porch, and ring and run. I am sure Mr. Cosgrove won't mind receiving such a package since accurate record keeping is so important to him. Now, as a resident of Massachusetts and NOT Virginia, I have to wonder what I can do to help my Virginian sisters. The answer was provided by my clever friend. He read the law thoroughly and discovered a bit of an omission. Nowhere on the entire document does it state HUMAN fetal material. So here's what he came up with: If we could ban together and send this illustrious Virginia lawmaker 1000 fresh fetal pigs, and he failed to file the required reports within 12 hours (as the custodian of said "fetal material") we could put him away for 20 years under his own law. So, who's in?