On Tuesday, Pennsylvania State Representative Wendy Ullman made a sickening and shocking statement that miscarriage is "just a mess on a napkin."
While watching the clip of her statement, I felt as if someone had punched me in the gut. I haven't had a miscarriage myself, but I know many people who have. Just 11 days ago I gave birth to my firstborn child, and I could not imagine having lost her during pregnancy. It would have been devastating. So for someone, especially a representative, say that the loss of a baby is just a "mess" is sickening.
Rep. Ullman made the shocking statement while expressing her opposition to a Republican-sponsored bill seeking to handle the remains of the aborted and miscarried with dignity. House Bill 1890 would require abortion clinics and healthcare facilities to bury or cremate such lost unborn children, as opposed to tossing out the children like medical waste.
“[House Bill 1890] refers specifically to the product of conception after fertilization, which covers an awful lot of territory,” she said, “I think we all understand the concept of the loss of a fetus, but we’re also talking about a woman who comes into a facility and is having cramps and — not to be, not to be, concrete — an early miscarriage is just some mess on a napkin.”
Tom Shaheen, Vice President for Policy for Pennsylvania Family Institute, quickly condemned Ullman’s insensitive statement. “A miscarriage, no matter how early, does not result in a ‘mess on a napkin’ but the loss of a child,” Mr. Shaheen rebuked the Democrat. “Each human life deserves respect, even when lost at an early stage in development.”
“The remains of human beings should be treated better than medical waste,” Shaheen said, “Rep. Frank Ryan’s bill is a compassionate effort to help offer some closure to many mothers and families in Pennsylvania.”
“Every Pennsylvanian should be appalled at such a heartless comment, which devalues life and ignores the pain experienced by so many women and families in Pennsylvania,” a statement from the Pennsylvania Family Institute added.
Shame on her for spewing such a disgusting view of life. It is truly a sad day in America when the unborn are looked at with such disdain and low value. It breaks my heart.
