I would be tried for murder in Georgia

I'm not normally one for political opinion.  I only keep myself moderately educated on what's going on in the world so for the most part, I don't feel educated enough to comment.

But apparently, there is a new law being introduced in Georgia that would have someone in my position tried for double homicide and given the death penalty.

Here is the article about the new law.

According to that law, myself and my doctors would be felons, tried for double homicide, and put on death row.

Dear Rep Bobby Franklin,

I am the woman you would like to see killed at the hands of state prosecutors.

Prior to my pregnancy, I began prenatal care.  I took metformin to prevent diabetes, lost about 15lbs, and started taking prenatal vitamins a month or two before I was pregnant.

Unlike most women, I had the benefit of knowing the date and time of my conception.  Every moment of my conception was monitored by doctors so there was not a single minute of my pregnancy in which I did not know that I could possibly be pregnant.  For most pregnancies, there is a 2-5 week window in which a woman can be pregnant with no way knowing that pregnancy has occurred.  Many women miscarry during this window and never know they were pregnant.  Should we be sending you samples of all of our menstrual tissue to be tested for signs of a 2 week old lost fetus?

I was pregnant with twins.  Those twins were suspected by week 2 and confirmed by week 6.  Many women might confirm a pregnancy, but may or may not know that they are pregnant with twins.  Prior to the first ultrasound (and sometimes even after), a second fetus is undetectable and can be reabsorbed into the body due to VTS with no one ever knowing that second fetus existed.  Again, how would you like to be made aware of a lost twin that no one knew existed?  Because according to your law, the surviving fetus should be prosecuted for absorbing the body of the lost twin.

I had the benefit of access to some of the best medical care in the country.  I live 15 minutes from the largest hospital complex in the state of Washington and the health insurance and financial support of family to ensure that whatever care was recommended, I was able to to receive it.

Throughout my 19 week pregnancy, I saw a doctor a minimum of once every 2 weeks.  It is generally recommended that a woman be seen every 4 weeks or so.  But due to the fact that I had twins, it was an IVF pregnancy, and I was just a generally concerned first time mother, I had double the monitoring as considered standard for a healthy pregnancy.

I did no heavy lifting, I ate nothing on the no-no list, I washed up whenever I touched anything that might carry germs.

I was tested for infection around the 17 week mark and found to be clean.  I was tested for diabetes 10 weeks earlier than most women are and when it was found to be positive (despite my preventative measures), I monitored my blood glucose levels and we found that I was already following what the doctors would advise and there was nothing further I could do at that time to keep myself healthy.

At 18 weeks, I was tested for everything under the sun just to be on the safe side.  At 18 weeks and 4 days, I received all of the test results from my perinatologist and told that every test they could possibly run came back showing the three of us to be in perfect health.  All of my numbers were dead center in the range that they were supposed to be.

At 18 weeks and 5 days, I began to have cramps.  Around the midnight hour, I was in the ER in full labor.  The doctors were able to stop my labor.  Even so, my water broke and the fluid that was released showed proof that one of my girls had been in distress. 

As we moved to the 18 week and 6th day, we now knew that the girls had an infection.  As identical twins, once it was confirmed from the fluid of the first twin, it was inevitable that the second twin had the infection as well.

There were three options.

Wait for nature to take its course.  Since my body did not begin labor again naturally, had we been forced to wait for nature (as your law would demand), my body would not have expelled the infection until it had spread to my uterus.  From there, the uterus would have to be removed for me to survive.  That is, IF it did not spread enough to kill me despite all efforts.

Induce labor (breaking your law) and allow my girls to suffer as they inevitably died.  And by the time I finished labor, the infection might have taken me as well.

Or do a D&E (again, breaking your law) and remove the girls before they suffered, and allow me to keep my uterus so that I might have another chance to bring children into this world.

We opted for a D&E.  2 lives were inevitably lost.  Had we not opted for a D&E, a third life probably would have been lost as well.  And the embryos that I have in storage probably would have been destroyed rather than given a chance to become living children.

Mr. Franklin, since you believe I deserve to die, can you please pinpoint the crime that I committed and how I could have prevented it?  Because I can't find it.  And my doctors can't find it.  You want to kill me for the sin of surviving.

Believe me when I tell you that my survival of this ordeal is punishment enough.  Had your law been in effect, I would have left the hospital in either handcuffs or a body bag.  This law is not pro-life.  It would have killed me, killed my girls, and prevented the children I hope to have in the future from ever existing.

Sincerely,
A Miserable Miscarriage Mama