In part, it is conjectured that this shift was due to the dissatisfaction of mothers who miscarried with the subsequent medical treatment they received. Many women who miscarry report cold, callous treatment from medical providers - despite having tragically lost a real, wanted child. The move from 'spontaneous abortion' to 'miscarriage' thus was intended to foster more empathy.

It is also proposed that the terms shifted with the increasing prevalence of legal abortion. It became more necessary to distinguish between the two, both for emotional and practical reasons. Prior to abortion's legalization in 1973, a woman who was victimized by an illegal abortion may have visited a doctor's office and claimed it was a miscarriage. But with legal abortion and natural miscarriage becoming very separate events in the public sphere, the terms also reflected it.

For the purposes of the pro-life movement, it's important to know that the term 'spontaneous abortion' is formally a medical term that refers to miscarriage. But we also assert that, in today's understanding, the term is confusing, conflicting, and should be retired. Abortion and miscarriage are radically different and the words should match that distinction.

Right now, laws vary by state regarding whether grieving parents have a "right" to their own baby's remains, if the baby is born in a hospital. Some allow parents to take custody of an infant’s remains, others are less explicit and defer to hospital protocols, and some decline to address the issue at all.  

Most states require a fetal death certificate if the death occurs after 20 weeks (considered a stillbirth). But for miscarriage—prior to 20 weeks—most states have no legal requirements in place for the handling of the remains or certifying death. A review of various state laws on this sensitive issue from Heavens Gain Ministries reveals a hodge-podge of approaches (or no approach at all). 

According to Heavens Gain, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming state laws completely fail to address the treatment of infant remains after miscarriage.  

There are no requirements placed on hospitals to notify parents or ensure that parents have the opportunity to recover the body of their child if they so desire. 

In Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia, parental rights are better safeguarded: parents must authorize the final disposition of the remains and generally have the opportunity to receive the body if they wish. But this ought to be the case in all the states, not just some. 

In many cases, depending on state law and hospital protocol, the remains of the deceased infant are simply treated as medical waste, which is normally either incinerated or sterilized and then dumped in a landfill. For all practical purposes, many state laws and hospital protocols classify a baby miscarried before 20 weeks just as they would a tumor, amputated limb, or bodily fluid: the remains will be incinerated or otherwise discarded as “pathological waste.” In other words, the bodies of tiny, human persons are treated like trash.

In New York, for example, a baby miscarried prior to 20 weeks is generally considered “products of conception” and disposed of by the hospital as waste—without parental involvement. This horrifying procedure callously disregards the dignity of the child and the dignity of the grieving parents, who have a right to their infants’ remains and a right to dispose of those remains in a respectful and meaningful manner.  

For those who want the right to receive their child’s body for burial and cremation, a need exists for a federal Bereaved Parents’ Rights Act.  Students for Life of America plans to champion such an effort.

Heaven's Gain Ministries is a national resource for parents of prenatal loss from the moment it's discovered that their baby's heart has stopped beating. 

Reach out at [email protected]  or learn more at HeavensGain.org.

For regular inquiries OR urgent support (between 8am-midnight ET), please call their hotline: (513) 888-4200