Quit looking smug, Virginia.  You got your share of crazies, too.

If a woman in Virginia has a miscarriage without a doctor present, they must report it within 24 hours to the police or risk going to jail for a full year. At least, that’s what would have happened if a bill introduced by Virginia state Sen. Mark Obenshain (R) had become law.

So, if you’re in a Virginia and have a miscarriage without a doctor present, you have to “within 24 hours, report the fetal death, location of the remains, and identity of the mother to the local or state police or sheriff’s department of the city or county where the fetal death occurred.”

State Sen. Mark Obenshain

That’s right.  Not a doctor.  The police.  You know – where you go to report a crime.  Where they will open a file with your name on it and the condition of the fetus.  And if you don’t, you face a year in jail and a $25,000 fine.

Now I’m not saying that every woman whose menstrual cycle is a week late should march herself to the sheriff’s department and say, “I think I may have had a miscarriage.  I need to report it in graphic detail for the purely prurient pleasure of state Sen. Mark Obenshain.

I am not saying that you should then mail a copy of the report to Sen. Mark Obenshain, P.O. Box 555, Harrisonburg, VA 22803 with a little smiley face on the front.

By the way, Mark Obenshain is running for Virginia Attorney General.  There will be a Democratic primary on June 11th to determine his Democratic opponent.  I’ll post the name of the winner if you remind me and we can all send him a dollar or two.