Well, it looks as though having lost the midterms in full-on absolute blue tsunami bloodbath has done very little to curb some of our remaining Republican legislators from busting out some truly batshit legislation. Case in point, South Carolina Congresswoman Sheri Biggs, who just recently introduced her “Don’t Flush Babies Act.”
Now, sure, if she were talking about actual babies, we’d all be with her. I mean, I think we can all agree that flushing a newborn, living baby down the toilet is a very bad idea, for both humanitarian and plumbing-related reasons. Do not recommend! But what she is talking about here is pregnancy tissue and “solid medical waste” caused by abortion medication.
Although, I suppose we should note that the bill does kick off with some plumbing concerns:
Congress finds the following:
(1) Clear and conspicuous packaging notices on chemical abortion drugs can reduce undignified disposition of aborted human fetal remains and improper disposal of solid medical waste.
(2) Standardized labeling requirements are commonly used in Federal product-safety legislation.
(3) Improper disposal of aborted human fetal remains and related solid medical waste may cause pipe blockages, plumbing damage, and environmental contamination.
The bill would require providers who prescribe abortion medication to also provide “catch kits” — which would include brightly colored biohazard bags clearly labeled “HUMAN FETAL REMAINS” and “SOLID MEDICAL WASTE” — and to subsequently provide cremation or burial services for the “fetal remains” once returned to them.
It would also, we presume, include one of these fancy colanders so that no one is fishing around in the toilet for pregnancy tissue.
It would also require that the abortion medication itself include instructions and an “image” of a fetus at ten-weeks gestation.
(hh) (1) If it is an abortion drug, unless the packaging of such drug bears, in a clear, conspicuous, and prominent manner on the principal display panel—
“(A) a label notice with the following warning statement: ‘DO NOT FLUSH THE FETUS OR SOLID MEDICAL WASTE GENERATED BY USE OF THIS DRUG’;
“(B) a symbol, to be located immediately adjacent to such label notice, that contains a pictorial image of a fetus at 10 weeks of gestation that displays the head, arms, and legs, placed so that the characteristics of the fetus are clearly visible and remain recognizable and, adjacent to such image, a pictorial image of a toilet that is recognizable, with such images centered inside a red circle with a diagonal red slash, styled as a standard ‘Do Not’ symbol; and
“(C) under such symbol, the following statement: ‘Image shown is of a fetus at 10 weeks gestation; development of the fetus will vary by gestation. Discuss your gestation with your healthcare provider.’”
It’s worth noting that it is highly unlikely that a person having an abortion at 10 weeks would see in the “catch kit” what is shown on the label, as those images are super magnified. Rather, it would look more like this:
Of course, it’s not any great respect for these “remains” that has Biggs introducing this bill, as it clearly states that this nonsense will not be required for those taking the drugs to expel pregnancy tissue following a miscarriage. One would have to assume that, were this just about that, or just about the water or the plumbing or whatever, then she would want to see the same measures taken — but no! She does not. In fact, she makes an explicit exception for natural miscarriages, as well as for ectopic or molar pregnancies.
(3) In this paragraph:
“(A) The term ‘abortion’ means intentionally terminating the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant, with an intention other than—
“(i) producing a live birth;
“(ii) removing a dead unborn child caused by miscarriage; or
“(iii) treating an ectopic or molar pregnancy.”
So it’s quite clear that the goal of this bill is to make everyone feel bad for what they’ve done and also to make the whole process more expensive. Thus, SPLC-designated hate group Focus on the Family’s writeup of the bill actually specifically notes that “H.R. 10954 would humanize babies that have lost their life by offering them a dignified burial. By requiring clinics to pay for the ethical disposal of fetal remains, the bill would also require abortionists take some small measure of responsibility for their part in the infant’s death.”
Not an infant! Not a baby!
Almost ironically, the “catch kits” were actually initially for those who experienced unintentional miscarriages, for the purposes of helping them deal with that grief. The device was invented by Scottish engineer Laura Corcoran after her own third miscarriage. There’s something particularly sick about the idea of taking a device used to help women recover from trauma and using it in hopes of causing it. Because that’s the real goal. Rep. Biggs wants women to feel bad about having abortions and she wants providers to feel badly about assisting them. That is the whole point of all of this.
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Well, somewhat.
In addition to the goal of trying to make abortion-havers and providers feel bad about their choices, the bill would also make it near-impossible for providers to prescribe abortion medication across state lines. The bill requires that the person who had the abortion (or someone acting on their behalf) return it to the provider in person, and does not allow for it to be sent by mail.
The bill has no chance of passing. Similar bills have been attempted in several states, and so far have only succeeded in Indiana (it was permanently blocked in Ohio), and I think last week, if anything, made it pretty clear that the United States is not Indiana. So if Shari Biggs really wants to have her some abortion funerals, she’s going to have to pick up the bagpipes herself and stand next to a sewer grate for a good long while.
PREVIOUSLY ON WONKETTE!
She is worried about the "dignity" of a ten-week fetus, but was she similarly worried when Drumpf and Temu Neidermeyer used million-dollar cruise missiles to slaughter little girls at that school in Iran?
Speaking as someone with direct experience, all I ask is time to make her cry like her Mama died.
Fucking ghoul.