by Kimmy
A few days ago a woman from Democracy for Virginia, (an amazing woman & DFA friend, I might add!) got wind of a bill and decided to take action, using information & the internet as her tools. Okay, her wit & intellect served her pretty well too. I know you're thinking this doesn't sound very exciting and you're questioning reading any further...but really, friends... , must I remind you? Patience is a virtue!
Now, Miss Maura didn't run across some run-of-the-mill gov't. bill - or some front page partisan hype that makes you seriously consider livin' the ol' "ignorance is bliss" lifestyle. No, Miss Maura of VA discovered a sneaky little bill and it is the mother load. One of most preposterous (& downright frightening!) bills I've ever heard of, that's for sure. What is it? It's called "HB1677, Report of Fetal Death by mother, penalty", and it's being introduced by John A. Cosgrove (R) of Chesapeake, VA.
Did I mention this one of the most offensive, invasive, full-fledged attacks on women that I have ever seen?
Once you read Maura's report (read it all,!) you'll understand that no added dramatics are needed - your panties WILL be in a wad. When you learn that any woman in VA that suffers a miscarriage can, under this bill, go to jail if she doesn't report it- my friends, you too might need some assistance with that chip on your shoulder you're going to have. You'll certainly understand why Miss Maura decided to take action and spread the word. She knew this bill had to be stopped in it's woman-bashing tracks!! Her first mission: get this information out there quick- report it!
Maura's write-up on the bill, "Legislative Sentry: HB1677 - Have Miscarriage, Go to Jail?" popped up Jan. 6th on a website you should be familiar with, Democracy for Virginia. Drowning in a sea of my own action, I saved her article to my desktop for nighttime reading. Way, way after the kids hit the sheets (& a few calming drinks) I sat down and started reading her article.
I've been knee-deep in massive amounts of research and information on a subject very close to home digging through must-read information. There may not be enough time in my life to share all that I've come across. Anyway, the point is that my passion for anything right now is pretty much reduced to a a dull "wow, trip out". Yes folks, I'm "All cried out", lost the "wind in my sails".... or so I thought. After reading Maura's article... I gotta tell you, I was blown away. "Have Miscarriage, go to jail?" ignited passion and there's a few reasons why. First, this bill itself blows your mind and once you read about it, your fury won't be easily extinguished. More on that later. Maura set me ablaze with her writing style and sheer determination. She tells a great story, she's well-spoken and man-oh-man is this report informative! Maura explains Cosgrove's woman-bashing bill in detail, leaving even the most clueless individual totally informed... and frankly... pissed off.
4 days later (or is it 5?!) I've learned that Maura's article, within 12 hours, landed on hundreds of blog and boards, was picked up by MichaelMoore.com and even got mentioned on Air America Radio! 70,000 hits to DFV and 24 hrs. later, the author of the legislation (Cosgrove) contacted Maura to let her know he was re-wording the bill. All I could think when I read this update from a friend was "Proof!! Proof!! Even more proof to show naysayers!!" Well okay, a "gawd ,she rules" came out too, but whateva...
Kickass democracy-in-action aside, the bill still exists and there's more to be done, so be sure to check out her updates, here. Everyone needs to help squash this ideology, pronto.
Back to Maura's kickass D-I-Y action.
I don't want to sound too preachy because that's not my intention. Actually, I'm trying to live up to a title BFA blogger's gave me long ago: "Minister of Stating the Obvious Things Everyone else Glosses over". If you have a complaint, send it their way (careful now!) and just allow me to say:
This is a perfect example of how one person can get the ball rolling. At times, many of us (myself included) get angry or shocked by political issues but we only rant & rave for a while (wishing we were closer, so we could punch this creep!) and perhaps mail the bill off to a friend or two. We might even tell our whole personal e-mail list about the bill and *swear* that we will look into it more later, after a host of other things on our plate, and we end up dropping the ball. Maura, however, gave it the ol' "college try" making it a priority and she's caused quite a stir around the 'net. She put her passion to work and the result, so far, is nothing short of incredible.
Maura's ongoing saga serves as a "how-to-get-things-done" reminder, too. She let her rage stew, stepped back and informed herself on the entire issue, then she put her best thought forward and brought it to attention, seeking opinion. After the article was in perfect shape and she was confident, she blasted it out into cyber-space (and perhaps face-to-face encounters). Thousands now know about this bill, the author is thinkin' twice and a community of women has come together because of her action. It even brought up a few personal issues that I've let slide, reminding me to take-care of more than just my websites.
Those that don't know her might be thinking that Maura's probably some super-experienced activist or pro-fem lobbyist or something. You might be thinking that she has some kind of advantage that you don't, which made it easy for her get this started and of course, makes it painless for you to reject taking any action... for now . You may not be thinking that but on the off-chance you were? You're wrong. Maura became a great organizer but her life is no picnic. She's just as busy, if not more, than the rest of us and she doesn't work for some organization or D.C. lobby group. There isn't anyone behind the scenes here.. Maura is just like us but there is one thing that makes her different--she didn't give up or become indifferent. After these last 2 years of political action and major letdowns, alot of us are still sitting still. Envoking her passion she made this bill a priority and on her own, took action to protect women.
I guarantee you there are a thousand social or political issues that will affect you this way, too. Sooner or later you'll find out about them and hopefully... hopefully, you'll care too. You too can participate in democracy and with the internet on your side? psssshhhhh! What are you waiting for??
Get crackin'.
Thanks for looking out for all of us, Maura.
Stop by Maura's place & get her latest update on this monster from hell bill, posted today!
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Power to the people
The story behind the withdrawal of HB 1677
Chris Graham
It couldn't have happened five years ago. Certainly 10 years ago.
The average person, after all, didn't just sit around in the good old days and read proposed legislation.
"If you were lucky, you might read a line or two of a bill in a story in the newspaper. But unless you were an activist, you didn't have access to legislative items. Not many people were able to pile into their car and drive to the Capitol to ask to see a copy of this bill or that bill," said Maura Keaney, who with a group of friends and fellow Deaniacs decided over the holidays to put their political acumen to the test.
The group started itself on a project to read all the bills that had been introduced by that point for consideration by the Virginia General Assembly in its upcoming 2005 session - "to see if there was anything that jumped out at us as being something that should be a concern to anybody," Keaney told The Augusta Free Press.
After coming across a few interesting both otherwise rather innocuous pieces of legislation at the outset, it was Keaney who stumbled upon House Bill 1677 - a measure that had been proposed by Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, that was to make it a woman's responsibility to report a fetal death occurring "without medical attendance" to law-enforcement authorities within 12 hours of the death taking place.
The bill stood out, Keaney said, because it seemed to her at first glance that the legislation would open a Pandora's box of issues.
Keaney said she researched the topic by trying to make contact with Cosgrove and also getting in touch with a friend who is a public-health nurse to learn more about the procedures for reporting fetal deaths currently in practice.
She also looked up the definition of fetal death in the state code. After finding what she wanted in section 32 of the code - " 'Fetal death' means death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, regardless of the duration of pregnancy; death is indicated by the fact that after such expulsion or extraction the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles" - "the warning lights went off," Keaney said.
"Even if Del. Cosgrove hadn't meant to go down this line, as he has said repeatedly since this came to light, the bill as it was written was going to go well beyond what he was intending based on the definition of fetal death in the state code," Keaney said.
Keaney posted the first news item about HB 1677 to www.democracyforvirginia.com - the Web site that she and her friends had launched last spring in the wake of the effective dissolution the Howard Dean presidential campaign - in the early-morning hours of Jan. 6.
"I think 15 people read it. It didn't get much attention, if any at all," Keaney said.
She sent links to her initial piece to a mix of politics and parenting-oriented sites the next day, "and things took off from there," Keaney said.
The Democracy for Virginia site had been getting in the area of 200 hits a day to that point in time, Keaney said. But on Jan. 7, the site recorded 40,000 hits, and on Jan. 8, it was up to 70,000.
By Monday, the count was 120,000 hits - and judging by the e-mails that the site received, Keaney said, the readers ran the gamut from Democrats to Republicans to nonpartisans whose main interest wasn't the politics as much as it was seeing to it that a legislative mistake not be made.
Many of those who had learned of what was going on with Cosgrove's legislation made contact with the delegate to let him know their thoughts on his proposal - prompting Cosgrove to decide on Monday to withdraw the bill.
"Many people expressed continuing concerns about the potential for the bill, even if revised, to criminalize innocent, grieving mothers who experience stillbirth if they simply failed to report the delivery. So the fact that he is going to withdraw the bill entirely is a victory for all the people who cared enough to learn about this bill and give their input to Del. Cosgrove about how it might impact their families," Keaney said.
"I don't think there is anyone who read about this issue on the Internet, in e-mail, on discussion boards or on blogs who would disagree with Del. Cosgrove's desire to protect newborn infants from abandonment," Keaney said. "But his bill, as originally crafted, set off alarm bells about intrusive government interference in private medical decisions and personal family matters from both sides of the political spectrum."
Keaney said she considers what has happened "a great victory for ordinary citizens who seek to become more engaged in government."
"The Internet has empowered people to make government of the people, by the people, and for the people more of a reality than ever before," Keaney said.
FROM THE AUGUSTA FREE PRESS
Posted by Hannah at January 10, 2005 03:45 PM