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.

  • Whirlybird
    11·
    1 year 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·
        1 year 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.