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as pointed out by [livejournal.com profile] ursulav:

The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2005 (Senate Bill 51 and House Bill 356) has been referred to committee in both the House and the Senate. It contains this definition:

WOMAN- The term `woman’ means a female human being who is capable of becoming pregnant, whether or not she has reached the age of majority.

Hmm. I'm...not a woman. And neither is my mother. (Neat trick, huh? Pr'aps it's hereditary...) If you're menopausal, sterile, or on birth control, you're not a woman under this definition.


A few responders pointed out the problems with this definition (in addition to the fact that it excludes those female adult humans that are sterile, menopausal, or using birth control, as [livejournal.com profile] ursulav already noted):

  • sterile/menopausal/birth control users can't get married in states which define marriage as being "between a man and a woman"
  • pregnant female adult humans aren't women (since they are incapable of becoming pregnant); therefore, there is no such thing as a pregnant woman, and this entire piece of legislation vanishes in a puff of logic. (Oh, if only it would.)

Definitions...

Date: 27 April 2005 14:17 (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fdmts.livejournal.com
Sometimes laws contain unintended edge cases and tricky loopholes because of their exact wordings. I tend to have a bit of sympathy for the spirit in which it was written in those cases.

This one, on the other hand, is plainly moronic.

(no subject)

Date: 27 April 2005 16:41 (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gwyd.livejournal.com
Alternatively, think what this does for lesbians....

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