Reproductive Rights

Craig Williams

Williams Voted For HB 118 Which Would Require Either A Burial Or Cremation Of Abortion Remains. According to the Pennsylvania General Assembly, AN ACT Providing for the final disposition of fetal remains; and imposing penalties. […] This act shall be known and may be cited as the Final Disposition of Fetal Remains Act. […] Duties of health care facilities. --Except as provided under subsection (a), a health care facility that possesses fetal remains shall have the following duties: (1) Provide for the final disposition of the fetal remains in accordance with the burial and transit permit requirements under 28 Pa. Code Ch. 1 (relating to administration of vital records). (2) Cremate or inter the fetal remains.” [Pennsylvania General Assembly HB 118, 6/9/21]

• PolitiFact: HB 118’s Requirement Of Burying Or Cremating Fetal Remains Could Pass On Additional Costs To Women. According to PolitiFact, “A proposed law in Pennsylvania doesn’t mandate that women be fined for miscarrying. Instead, it requires that health care facilities bury or cremate fetal remains, regardless of how or when a pregnancy ends.   The costs of the new requirements — and fines for failing to comply — would be on the facilities. However, women’s health experts say that those costs would likely get passed along to patients or insurers in some form.” [PolitiFact, 6/11/21]
• ACLU: “Legislation Like HB 118 Creates Difficult, Vague, Conflicting, And Sometimes Impossible, New Regulations For Clinics To Comply With—All Of Which Would Ultimately Impede Women’s Access To Abortion.” According to the ACLU, “Legislation like HB 118 creates difficult, vague, conflicting, and sometimes impossible, new regulations for clinics to comply with—all of which would ultimately impede women’s access to abortion.” [ACLU, accessed 6/21/22]