Del. Cosgrove pulls bill after Internet fuels fiery protest (fetal deaths)

[Catchawave]

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=80370&ran=43780

By CHRISTINA NUCKOLS, The Virginian-Pilot
© January 11, 2005

RICHMOND — A Chesapeake lawmaker withdrew a bill on Monday that would have required women to report fetal deaths, after he received more than 500 e-mails from people concerned that the measure would punish women who have miscarriages.

Opposition to the bill, HB1677, was generated by “blogs,” personal Web sites set up by individuals who post information and encourage discussion about topics of interest to them.

Del. John A. Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, was shaken by the speed and volume of the response as word of his bill traveled across the country via the Internet.

“I’ve never been blogged before,” he said. “The tone of the e-mails has been disgusting. It’s, 'You’re a horrible person. You ought to be cruci fied.’ And those were the nice ones.”

Cosgrove said his bill was intended to add more teeth to laws penalizing women who abandon full-term infants after birth.

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