Mandated Disposal and the Management of Foetal Death: A State-by-State Analysis of Foetal Disposition Laws in the United States Post-Dobbs.

Across the United States, every state establishes their own requirements for the disposition of foetal remains, including laws that address the disposal and reporting of foetal remains after a foetal death has occurred. Most states discard foetal remains as biohazard material, processed by healthcare facilities through medical incineration or sterilization. However, there are variations among state laws, with some states imposing specific requirements for the disposal of foetal remains and treating foetuses as persons. To examine these differences, I reviewed U.S. state statutes on foetal disposition, focusing on states with restrictive requirements for miscarried or aborted remains under twenty weeks gestation. In this paper, I analyse the thirteen states identified as having restrictive foetal disposition requirements. I describe the implications of restrictive foetal disposition laws and argue that these requirements allow states to govern foetal death in ways that infringe upon abortion and miscarriage patients' autonomy. Following the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization [2022] Supreme Court of the United States. No. 19-1392, I argue that foetal disposition laws could be weaponized to further strategize the political value assigned to foetuses and buttress abortion and miscarriage reporting, thus criminally implicating patients who have lost or terminated pregnancies. With reproductive autonomy rapidly declining in the United States, validating variable responses to foetal death and recognizing the relational nature of pregnancy loss and termination could better uphold patient autonomy and privacy.