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.

  • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    To be fair these are some of the same legal courses of action states like Washington have taken as well. Even legal cannabis is still a web of suppressive government bureaucracy, monopolistic tax structures, and punitive legal frameworks. We aren’t even close to what I would consider a just or equitable system, and every year it gets more heavily gentrified in favor of corporations who don’t give a single fuck about anybody who has suffered due to the war on drugs.