A woman who had a miscarriage is now charged with abusing a corpse as stricter abortion laws play out nationwide | CNN
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An Ohio woman who’d sought treatment at a hospital before suffering a miscarriage and passing her nonviable fetus in her bathroom now faces a criminal charge, her attorney told CNN.

An Ohio woman who had sought treatment at a hospital before suffering a miscarriage and passing her nonviable fetus in her bathroom now faces a criminal charge, her attorney told CNN.

Brittany Watts, 33, of Warren, has been charged with felony abuse of a corpse, Trumbull County court records show.

“Ms. Watts suffered a tragic and dangerous miscarriage that jeopardized her own life. Rather than focusing on healing physically and emotionally, she was arrested and charged with a felony,” her attorney, Traci Timko, told CNN in an email.

…

Though a coroner’s office report said the fetus was not viable and had died in the womb, Watts’ case highlights the extent to which prosecutors can charge a woman whose pregnancy has ended – whether by abortion or miscarriage.

  • Drusas@kbin.social
    1331·
    10 months ago

    A huge percentage of pregnancies end in miscarriage, very often before the woman even knows she was pregnant. This is the same. She should have to take special care of the mass her body rejected just because it was in there a little longer? What’s the cutoff for having to report that you had a miscarriage, then? Every period? Every time you have a period that’s a week or two late, because that is reasonably likely to have been a miscarriage?

    This was a non-viable fetus. It was never going to be a person. It’s not a corpse.

    • Shou@lemmy.world
      18·
      10 months ago

      You jest, but imagine if every women spammed any govement instance with “I’m on my period.”

    • Whirlybird
      11·
      10 months ago

      A huge percentage of pregnancies end in miscarriage

      This was a stillbirth, not a miscarriage. 1 in 175. Not exactly a “huge percentage”.

      She should have to take special care of the mass her body rejected just because it was in there a little longer?

      Yeah, she should when she has been having an abortion recommended by the doctors but she just kept refusing and going home.

      Every time you have a period that’s a week or two late, because that is reasonably likely to have been a miscarriage?

      That’s absolutely not true.

      This was a non-viable fetus. It was never going to be a person. It’s not a corpse.

      And as such she could have gotten a legal abortion.

        • Whirlybird
          1·
          10 months ago

          You read the article:

          It’s less common to naturally lose a fetus more than halfway through gestation – often known as stillbirth.

          She lost the fetus naturally after 21 weeks. 21 is more than halfway through a 40 week gestation.