Confusions, Certificates and Compassion

The following is my gracious wife's reply to a shorter version of this article published in the Uinta County Herald by Mr. Nate Martin of "Better Wyoming" and joined by representatives from "Wyoming Equality" and "NARAL Pro-Choice."




February 23, 2018

April Lange

Dear Editor:

In Nate Martin’s article “Senate Introduces Bill to Give Birth Certificates to Miscarried Fetuses,” there are some points of confusion that I think it would be helpful to address.

First, women already have the option of requesting a certificate if they lose their babies after 20 weeks. While state law requires that still births be registered in each district, women are not forced to obtain birth certificates. SF85 simply extends the option to those who lose a child at 9 weeks or later.

If Martin, Burt, and Burlingame are concerned about the “pressure on a woman who is under enormous stress,” they should rest assured that there is no “forcing” being suggested; to the contrary, the medical attendant “shall advise the patient that the patient may request” such a certificate, if desired. Burlingame said, “male politicians are using it for what feels like a political theater.” Having had 3 miscarriages of my own, I can assure you that this is not what it sounds like to a grieving mother’s ears. I would have gladly requested such a certificate for 2 of my unborn sons if I had had such an option.

Amadeus* Lange's heartbeat, 6 weeks gestation

It is important to remember that men also grieve during miscarriage. They lose sons and daughters, as well. There is no male vs. female in grief.  Mr. Martin states that Boner will never experience a miscarriage. Neither will Mr. Martin, but why pit men and women against one another? I commend Sen. Boner for bringing up this bill on behalf of women and men who are concerned about the lives lost and those grieving.  

One claim that Mr. Martin makes is that “a seed is not a tree. A fetus is not a child.” The seed of a child is an egg or sperm; no one is arguing that this is a child. A fetus is defined as “an unborn human baby more than eight weeks after conception.” If the term child is a hindrance, I concede that a fetus is a baby and not yet a child (“a young human being below the age of puberty”). Nevertheless, I have undergone births of live and dead babies and can attest that in both cases, a birth takes place.

Amadeus waving at 12 weeks gestation

I imagine it becomes easy in politics to get so caught up in winning or losing that one can lose sight of the people who are at stake. The connection between women and their babies begins very early on, and the loss of life is something that one really never gets over. At 6 weeks, I have seen the heart beating of all of my children; at 12 weeks, I saw my little boy wave before he passed away at 13 weeks. Being able to obtain a birth certificate for the little ones I lost would have acknowledged the life lost and would have helped me in the grieving process.

If Martin, Burt, and Burlingame are truly concerned about women, then they will reexamine their positions about this bill.

Sincerely,

April Lange 


*Amadeus means "loved of God," and he is. He is also loved by us.