# Romney Invested in Medical-Waste Firm That Disposed of Aborted Fetuses **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 2, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016 "2012-07-02T17:57:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/21 "2012-07-03T21:28:49Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Hello? Abortion is still legal in the US. > > What are you supposed to do with them, toss them out with the regular trash? Flush them down the john? Load them into tiny barrels and toss them in NJ’s barrens? They qualify as any other sort of surgical waste and needs to be disposed of by a medical waste company. I don’t disagree, but that’s not the point being discussed here. The point is that Romney is trying to appeal to a base that is stridently anti-abortion and having something like this in his past may not go over well with them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/22 "2012-07-03T22:36:25Z")
How much of the companies business was made up of fetus disposal? ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/23 "2012-07-03T22:54:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > How much of the companies business was made up of fetus disposal? That’s an entirely reasonable question in my view. If I felt that involvement in the disposal of abortion waste would affect a candidate’s competence, I’d try to find out. I don’t, though. However, I don’t think that the persons who believe that abortion is murder will agree with me. I think they see it as an all or nothing affair. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/24 "2012-07-04T00:02:56Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > That’s an entirely reasonable question in my view. If I felt that involvement in the disposal of abortion waste would affect a candidate’s competence, I’d try to find out. I don’t, though. However, I don’t think that the persons who believe that abortion is murder will agree with me. I think they see it as an all or nothing affair. I don’t know about that. It’s not like the company actually takes part in the abortion. It’s a health hazard that has to be dealt with. At any rate, a casual reading of the OP gives the impression that fetus disposal is the main service or one of the main services provided by this company. I think it’s reasonable to ask, as part of determining how big a deal this is, just how much of the company’s business consists of unborn baby disposal (UBD). ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/25 "2012-07-04T00:13:25Z")
Even one unborn fetus is one too many for any Republican candidate to stand upon! Even the tiniest part of the smallest unborn fetus is far too weighty to be part of the financial empire on which any candidate I will support to be based. To play a role in the success of Mitt Romney, the abuse of any fraction of any human fetus must be something we utterly reject, now and forever, in holy Jesus’ name! blablabla, yaddayaddayadda… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/26 "2012-07-04T00:21:01Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I don’t know about that. It’s not like the company actually takes part in the abortion. It’s a health hazard that has to be dealt with. > > At any rate, a casual reading of the OP gives the impression that fetus disposal is the main service or one of the main services provided by this company. I think it’s reasonable to ask, as part of determining how big a deal this is, just how much of the company’s business consists of unborn baby disposal (UBD). I’m not sure facts and logic really come into it. Disney has nothing to do with Gay Days, but people have been boycotting them over it for years. This company presumably made an affirmative decision to enter the fetus disposal business. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/27 "2012-07-04T00:23:25Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I don’t know about that. It’s not like the company actually takes part in the abortion. It’s a health hazard that has to be dealt with. > > At any rate, a casual reading of the OP gives the impression that fetus disposal is the main service or one of the main services provided by this company. I think it’s reasonable to ask, as part of determining how big a deal this is, just how much of the company’s business consists of unborn baby disposal (UBD). Baby formula provision in the third world is a small part of Nestle’s business, but they are still being boycotted for it. The idea is if the division is that small, why not simply divest? If you think a corporate behavior is deeply unethical, then it becomes all the more baffling when the activity is economically unnecessary. The OP: I doubt whether this will make a difference. Nobody really has any problem with abortion profiteering; they just pretend to. A good example is this rather large anti-Stericycle website. Not a mention in it of Romney’s involvement, except for a link to a Jan 2011 article at HuffPo. [http://www.stopstericycle.com/](http://www.stopstericycle.com/) Don’t confuse the principled with the poseurs. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/28 "2012-07-04T02:12:53Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Hello? Abortion is still legal in the US. > > What are you supposed to do with them, toss them out with the regular trash? Flush them down the john? Load them into tiny barrels and toss them in NJ’s barrens? They qualify as any other sort of surgical waste and needs to be disposed of by a medical waste company. I also agree with you. Really. But maybe if abortionists didn’t have any place to dispose of the fetuses, they would get out of the business? Or if they had fewer or less efficient places to dispose of them, the price of disposal would rise, causing abortions to become unaffordable for more women? I guess you don’t want to tell your fervent anti-abortion supporters that you provided cheap and convenient support services to abortion providers even if you never performed an abortion yourself. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/29 "2012-07-04T02:13:57Z")
You guys are not understanding the illogic. It’s not a one drop thing. It’s a “Is he on my side or not” thing. It won’t matter, since he’s the Republican nominee. It would matter if he were the Democratic nominee. Same way McCain’s natural born status didn’t matter, even though it should have based on their logic. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/30 "2012-07-04T06:11:55Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I’m not sure facts and logic really come into it. Well, that’s a convenient way to dump on something. You can just hand-wave your way into any conclusion that fits your preconceived ideas. But then, maybe you’re right. Maybe this is something big. Something that will create some huge groundswell on the right against Romney. In which case you should easily be able to find some evidence of it. What have you got? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/31 "2012-07-04T06:37:36Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I don’t know about that. It’s not like the company actually takes part in the abortion. It’s a health hazard that has to be dealt with. Or is it the remains of a dead person that should be given a proper burial? Some people might care about that distinction. Treating it like any other medical waste and disposing of it in a profitable but undignified manner might rub them the wrong way. Regardless, I also doubt that it’s more than a small part of the company’s operations. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/32 "2012-07-04T06:50:50Z")
I can see this being huge during the primaries, but I don’t think it’ll matter too much now. The people who really care about abortion enough to be outraged by this are still going to see Romney as the lesser of two evils. Maybe some of them go to Paul, but I don’t think it’s going to be very significant. The fact that he lied about it might get some traction with independents, but as far as lies go, it’s pretty well inside, “He’s a politician, what did you expect?” territory. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/33 "2012-07-04T12:49:08Z")
This is like equating a funeral director with a murderer. OTOH, if this is the best you can come up with, maybe Romney’s chances are better than I hoped. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/34 "2012-07-04T12:58:55Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > This is like equating a funeral director with a murderer. Or even like an MD providing a legal service with a murderer. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/35 "2012-07-04T14:56:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > This is like equating a funeral director with a murderer. More like a guy investing in a medical school which has a healthy business from body snatchers… whose electorate consists of people wanting to ban organ donation. > [@Simplicio](#): > > I actually think that’s true. Surely there are more profitable ways to use a foetus than disposing of it though? I guess one could say disposing of it is a service that ought to be performed for the good of the community, but surely turning it into fertiliser would be better? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/36 "2012-07-04T14:58:05Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > This is like equating a funeral director with a murderer. > > OTOH, if this is the best you can come up with, maybe Romney’s chances are better than I hoped. > > Regards, > Shodan You’re right. This is just the break the McCain campaign has been waiting for. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/37 "2012-07-04T16:22:55Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > This is like equating a funeral director with a murderer. > > OTOH, if this is the best you can come up with, maybe Romney’s chances are better than I hoped. > > Regards, > Shodan None of the people posting in this thread could give a shit if Romney owns a chain of abortion clinics. However, religious conservatives probably will. This isn’t a slam on Romney; it’s a discussion of whether this will affect his popularity with his own base. You read something negative about a Republican and instantly go into kneejerk lib-trashing mode. That’s not healthy. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/38 "2012-07-04T19:28:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > How much of the companies business was made up of fetus disposal? Well, their motto was “_Like that night never happened_”, if that’s any guide. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016/39 "2012-07-13T14:38:02Z")
Stericycle is “North America’s largest provider of medical waste services.” They operate in 11 countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and had revenues of $1.2 billion in 2009. Their customers are generators of regulated waste, such as hospitals, blood banks, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and, yes, funeral homes. The service include “medical waste disposal, sharps disposal management, product recalls and retrievals, OSHA compliance programs, pharmaceutical recalls and waste disposal, medical device returns, hazardous waste disposal, hospital waste stream management, mailback kits, infection-control products and patient communications services.” In other words, Stericycle handles stuff you’re not allowed to just throw away. If it’s legal anywhere to treat aborted fetuses like adult remains, and bury them with a funeral, the decision to do so or not is made by the hospital or clinic (and maybe its patients). Stericycle picks up plastic bins and incinerates the contents – that’s (mostly) it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-invested-in-medical-waste-firm-that-disposed-of-aborted-fetuses/627016.md?page=1)