Now, a California Bill to Permit Infant Death by Neglect

Now, a California Bill to Permit Infant Death by Neglect
By WESLEY J. SMITH
March 25, 2022 5:48 PM
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A little while ago I highlighted a shocking Maryland bill that would essentially decriminalize neglecting an infant to death in the “perinatal” period — i.e., through the first 28 days after birth — by preventing investigations and prosecution of such deaths that resulted from “a failure to act.”

I was interviewed on several talk-radio programs and was asked what the sponsor was thinking. My most charitable thought was that he was unaware of the definition of “perinatal.”

That “defense” is now inoperative. A bill was just filed in the California Legislature that is even worse than the Maryland legislation.

First, it would seem to create a broad claim for “people who give birth” to choose not to be a parent that is not limited to not getting pregnant, or in the context of the overall bill, abortion. Somehow, this is called “reproductive justice” and given a racial tinge. From AB 2223 (my emphasis throughout):

SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Reproductive justice is a framework created by Black women in 1994 to address the intersectional and multifactored issues that women of color and their families face in society.

(b) Reproductive justice is the human right to control our bodies, sexuality, gender, work, and reproduction. That right can only be achieved when all people, particularly women and girls, have the complete economic, social, and political power and resources to make healthy decisions about their bodies, families, and communities in all areas of their lives. At the core of reproductive justice is the belief in the right to bodily autonomy, the right to have children, the right to not have children, and the right to parent the children we have with dignity and respect in safe and sustainable communities.

(c) A critical part of realizing reproductive justice for people in California is clarifying that there shall be no civil and criminal penalties for people’s actual, potential, or alleged pregnancy outcomes.

Okay. Let’s be careful. Perhaps that wording just applies to preborn babies or the right not to get pregnant at all...

Here is the key passage:

123467. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability or penalty, or otherwise deprived of their rights, based on their actions or omissions with respect to their pregnancy or actual, potential, or alleged pregnancy outcome, including miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion, or perinatal death.

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