Miscarried Babies Lives Matter Too-Genesis Renea Hampton-The Genesis Act- House Bill 55

I’m asking for your support in passing the Genesis Act- House Bill 55.  This bill will allow parents to request at their request a non-viable birth certificate from vital statistics for babies born before 20 weeks, the same as others do with their babies born after 20 weeks.

Genesis’s Story

On September 28th, 2021, my life changed forever. It was the day I found out I was going to be someone's mommy. I was an array of emotions. I honestly thought that a baby was something that I would have to pray and believe God for as I never conceived before prior to this.   Two days after finding out I was pregnant, I ended up in the ER due to bleeding. At this time, they could not find a heartbeat or fetal pole, but they did discover a 9cm fibroid growing next to the egg sac. I was told at that time that they didn't know if my baby was dead or alive so I would need to be on antibiotics to avoid an infection just in case. My next Dr. appointment was on October 5th. After several tries, they eventually found my baby's heartbeat. I was told at this appointment that due to the size of the fibroid that it was a great chance that my baby would not survive. I was advised to ride the middle and to put it in God's hand. My pregnancy continued to progress along greatly the next few months. In November I found out I was having a girl at a small gender reveal I had with my family on Thanksgiving. My December 1st Dr appointment went well, and I was informed that my fibroid had not grown since the beginning of the pregnancy. I received my genetic test results and there were no abnormalities. I started getting excited about becoming a mommy. I was having a Baby Girl named Genesis, my beginning. We started planning her baby shower and my Baby Bump was growing. On December 22, 2021, my life changed forever again. On this day at 1:20am, I delivered Genesis Renea Hampton while I was home alone at 17 weeks pregnant.  When I arrived at the hospital I was so hurt and shocked. I found out that she was 8.5 in and 11.75oz. At 17 weeks she should have measured around 5in and 5oz. She was mommy's big girl and a fighter. She held on to life and lived long as she could. The Dr. states that the fibroid grew and caused her death. I'm still in disbelief but I know that God makes no mistakes. 

This was not the end for Genesis, it was just the Beginning. God allowed her to be born for a reason.  In her death, the desire to bring awareness to Miscarriages was birthed in me.  I was made aware of inequalities and inconsistencies in the current Alabama laws after I was denied a birth certificate for Genesis.  I was informed by the hospital staff that due to Genesis being born at 17 weeks and not 20 weeks, I could not get a birth certificate for her as the current Alabama law states that lives that are lost prior to 20 weeks does not have to be recorded.  I signed paperwork at the hospital for her to be cremated but I was unable to sign any paperwork signifying that she was born. The thought of my baby not being counted as if she did it matter when I knew how much she meant to me, and my family was devastating. I was upset when I thought about the current Alabama abortion laws and how it says life begins when there is a detected heartbeat.  I thought about the fetal homicide law and how there is no time limit on the how far along you are in your pregnancy in order for someone to be charged with capital murder for two lives if they murder a pregnant woman and her baby regardless of how far along, she is. 

The Genesis Act will signify to the citizens of Alabama that miscarried babies' lives matter the same as aborted and fetal homicide babies Abortions are now against the law and justice is served when a life at any stage during pregnancy is taken.  But what about the miscarried babies, whose lives are lost due to no fault of their parents or someone else.  Do they not deserve to be counted?  Do those parents not deserve to have a certificate stating that their baby was born, regardless of their length of life?  I found a quote from @ abeautifullyburdenedlife that states, “It doesn’t matter if a pregnancy only lasted a few weeks.  It doesn’t matter if it was an early loss or a late loss.  What matters is there was a baby who was loved immensely.  And love cannot be measured in weeks.”

The Genesis Act will not only benefit Genesis and myself, but changing the current law can benefit you or someone in your family as well.  I received an overwhelming amount of support when I first shared Genesis’s story and so many people reached out to me to let me know that I was not alone.  Miscarriages can affect anyone regardless of  age, race, gender, or socioeconomic status.  Parents in states such as Nebraska, Florida, and Tennessee can already request non-viable birth certificates regardless of being less than 20 weeks. This is a chance for Alabama to be one of the first states to show this type of support to families that have had miscarriages. Thank you in advance for your assistance in doing your part to make the Genesis Act- House Bill 55 a success on the November 23, 2023 ballot.