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.

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/6666536

(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.

“Ms. Watts’ case is pending before the Trumbull County Grand Jury. I have advised her not to speak publicly until the criminal matter has resolved.”

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.

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  • otp
    1·
    1 year ago

    Every law that vilifies or makes it challenging to access abortions. I don’t know about Ohio, but any of that stupid BS about forcing the women to look for or even listen to a fetal heartbeat for instance.

    And there’s nothing heinous about what she did.

    “As citizens, we are outraged that the criminal justice system is being used to punish Ms. Watts who, like thousands of women each year, spontaneously miscarried a non-viable fetus into a toilet and then flushed,” the group said in an open letter to the Trumbull County prosecutor.

    I think the charges are absolutely ridiculous… there was no victim here, at least not until charges were placed.

    • Whirlybird@aussie.zone
      1·
      11 months ago

      Are you not even reading what’s being said? She was offered an abortion. Multiple times. She eventually agreed……then walked out.

      Flushing a fetus is heinous. There doesn’t need to be a victim. There are many victimless crimes that are prosecuted. This deserves to be one.

      I’m pro abortion, pro choice. I’m not pro flushing dead fetuses down the toilet.

      • otp
        1·
        11 months ago

        She wasn’t necessarily “offered”. You make it seem like she was on the operating table and walked out when the doctor entered the room. That’s not what happened.

        What is a woman who miscarries into a toilet supposed to do? And what’s so heinous about that? Or, let me rephrase…what is so heinous that we need to punish the woman who had to go through that heinous situation? It just seems like punishing the victim.