[Crossposted at CultureKitchen]
File this one in the “What the Fuck?!” file:
[snip]
There are two parts to the draft legislation – the first dealing with some irregularities in central Indiana regarding surrogacy and adoptions. But the part of the bill raising eyebrows involves assisted reproduction.
It defines assisted reproduction as causing pregnancy by means other than sexual intercourse, including intrauterine insemination, donation of an egg, donation of an embryo, in vitro fertilization and transfer of an embryo, and sperm injection.
The bill then requires “intended parents” to be married to each other and specifically says an unmarried person may not be an intended parent.
The bill is HFC004 (pdf file) and here is what it covers:
(1) intrauterine insemination;
(2) donation of an egg;
(3) donation of an embryo;
(4) in vitro fertilization and transfer of an embryo; and
(5) intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
Here’s my favorite part. The bill actually defines sexual intercourse:
I didn’t know it was possible to penetrate clitorises.
The bill sets up a series of procedures that “intended parents” must go through, and says who is allowed to become a parent–heterosexually married people only, thank you. The really, really mean that:
It also bans non-heterosexually married people from entering into surrogacy agreements. The eligibility pre-screening includes gathering such information as the values of the parents and their religious engagement, their financial status, and an evaluation of the safety of the community (sorry to you folks who can’t afford to live in the nice, safe suburbs). People whose criminal background checks come back with certain crimes are not allowed to become parents.
Beyond the outrage behind banning certain people from utilizing services that are available, this is also an incredibly invasive law in the types of information it requires and the judgements it makes based upon them. This is troubling as hell, and I’m not sure how parts of it will stand up in Court. But, damn, they’re really getting serious about forcibly maintaining heterosexual marriage. They’re trying to fuck over everyone.
The bill is currently before the joint Health Finance Commission.
We’ve been talking about this since yesterday, but glad to have your viewpoints as well!! (besides, the thread was getting kind of long)
How’s things with you?
shit…sorry, out of it completely….that’s how i am–teaching and writing and stuff has left me a bit frazzled, good, but busy and frazzled.
No worries!! It is a topic worth discussing a LOT! I am just happy to see you posting!
Good to hear that it’s a good, frazzled, busy that has kept you! I always enjoy your posts — what are you writing?
working on finalizing my diss proposal–just took an exam a couple weeks ago (my final comprehensive)…all that typical academic bullshit…
Oh, I didn’t know you were dissertating! Congrats on getting through the comprehensives — when do you defend the proposal? I defended mine a year and a half ago — I should be done by now, but have been in a stall all year….collected all of my data last fall and was going along at a fairly good clip until about February….I have t find somem kind of motivation to finish….I have just completely lost it….ooops, sorry to ramble on.
Got any motivating words?
😉
motivating words? I was hoping you’d have a few–I’d rather watch AbFab, but I do find motivating herbs are helpful in writing 🙂
Should have it in defendable condition next month. It’s currently 30-some odd pages of coherent ideas, but not appropriately organized (gotta get the format right or it’ll fuck up the university bureaucrats. I just want to be done.
When I wrote my proporal, i was TOTALLY into my subject — I still care about it a great deal, but right now, i also just want to be done, but can’t find it in myself to get in gear and just fucking write it (I have about 4 chapters drafted but I haven’t looked at them for 6 months…maybe they’ll look better after all this time? lol)
SSM in MA–hoping to trace narratives about the couples who sued the state through the media and law…construction at different points in the process…comparing institutions and media sources, that sort of thing. Yours?
Here’s my ‘elevator pitch’:
My research focuses on the production and circulation of social capital within the context of an online professional development community for elementary teachers. In the context of an online environment that I helped design and develop and in which I served as the community facilitation coordinator for two years, I am exploring the value of this online community through the perspective of the teachers involved. My dissertation explores how teachers who were trained as facilitators for the community describe the value of their experiences for their professional growth and discusses examples of interactions and activities in which social capital is manifested.
I totally understand being “over” a topic…my general attitude toward things is, “I’ve researched it, I understand it, now why do I have to write it?” This whole thing is difficult because I just don’t enjoy writing all that much…that’s where the herbal supplements come in handy–they slow me down enough to stay on topic and I don’t self-censor as much (no herbs for editing though)
This put a whole new spin on it for me. See my cousin and I were joking about trying to get pregnant with a husband in the military. She is an R.N. and her husband is a Captain in the Marines. She said she was thinking about having him stock up for her and she would use a turkey baster if he was busy. What do we do if a child is conceived during heavy petting but no actual male organ entered a female organ. Did the couple break the law? It has happened you know……some guys’ guys can really swim! If someone ejaculates near the vaginal opening has the law been broken right then and there or only if conception occurs? My God this is so outrageous it is funny!
Who wrote that bill? James Flipping Dobson? Wow.
Tells you something about the state of sex education in Indiana, doesn’t it….
Seriously, though, this legislation is unbelievable. What next, are they going to go after unmarried couples or single women who get pregnant the old fashioned way? Require children entering school to have certificates showing they were either legally or naturally conceived? What about couples who don’t measure up to their standards of “religious engagenment”?
They claim they’re setting “parental standards” for the “good of the children…” — but you know, anyone willing to go to the trouble (and expense) of in-vitro fertilization or any of the other assisted reproduction methods must really, really want a baby. I’d worry less about a baby that’s wanted that badly and focus my efforts on helping the unwanted ones… who are already born and need all the help they can get.
“I didn’t know it was possible to penetrate clitorises.”
If this bill’s sponsors hear this, they’ll be compelled to attach a provision requiring clitoridectomy before conception is permitted. Mustn’t permit any confusion about which women are the Madonnas, and which are the whores.