Texas to Require Burial of Fetal Remains

Texas will implement new rules requiring fetal remains to be buried or cremated. Beginning Dec. 19, the rules will require abortion clinics and health-care facilities to bury or cremate remains, regardless of how long the fetus had been in gestation. Introduced in July, the rules prompted massive backlash from health professionals and reproductive-rights activists, who argued that the rules created an unnecessary burden on women, or that the rules would punish those who’d had miscarriages. Texas lawmakers later updated the rules to state that miscarriages or abortions that took place outside a medical facility would not require burials.