Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 30, 1992 TAG: 9201300197
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ABORTION LEFT OUT OF DEAD-BODIES BILL
A legislative summary of Del. Willard Finney's "dead body" bill cites three instances in which the remains of stillborn infants were found discarded in Franklin and Henry counties last year.But the bill stops short of addressing such cases because Finney feared it would draw the attention of abortion foes.
The problem is that legislation addressing the disposal of stillborn infants could open the door to questions about the disposal of fetal tissue, a byproduct of abortion procedures.
"We discussed that and came quickly to the conclusion that we did not want to get into that," said Finney, a Rocky Mount Democrat. "It would triple the attention to this bill and probably would kill it."
As a result, Finney's bill - which would would make the improper disposal of a human body a Class 2 misdemeanor - involves only the bodies of persons who lived outside the womb. A bill introduced by Del. Roscoe Reynolds, D-Henry County, takes a similar approach.
"It doesn't cover all instances, admittedly," Finney said. "It's a start."
The legislation comes in response to the three cases in which infants' bodies were found discarded - one in a Henry County dumpster and two in the woods of Franklin County.
Authorities identified all three mothers, who each said they disposed of the bodies after their babies were stillborn. Autopsies could not determine if the infants were born dead or alive.
Prosecutors called for a law to make it illegal to dump infants' bodies in dumpsters or beside the road, saying such practices posed a health risk and offended human dignity.
Cliff Hapgood, commonwealth's attorney for Franklin County, said he understood legislators' reluctance to tackle the issue.
"It's one of those deals where no one wants to touch the implications. Everyone is afraid of" Roe vs. Wade, the landmark abortion case, Hapgood said.
Reynolds said Wednesday the abortion issue may hurt his bill's chances, despite his effort to limit the application to the bodies of formerly living people.
Members of the House Courts of Justice Committee raised the abortion issue Tuesday before sending the bill to a subcommittee for further review, Reynolds said.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY