Ohio Woman Faces Charges After Miscarrying Nonviable Fetus
Ohio was in the midst of a heated debate over abortion rights when a tragic incident unfolded. Brittany Watts, who was 21 weeks and 5 days pregnant, began experiencing complications. She sought medical help at a doctor's office near Mercy Health-St. Joseph's Hospital in Warren, Ohio.
During her visit, the doctor informed Watts that her water had broken prematurely and the fetus she was carrying would not survive. He advised her to go to the hospital to have her labor induced, essentially performing an abortion to deliver the nonviable fetus. The alternative would put Watts at a significant risk of death, according to medical records.
Over the course of the next three days, Watts endured a traumatic series of events. She made multiple trips to the hospital, experienced a miscarriage at her home, and had to flush and plunge the toilet to dispose of the remains. Unfortunately, these actions resulted in a police investigation.
As a result, Watts, who is Black, has been charged with abuse of a corpse, a fifth-degree felony in Ohio. If convicted, she could face up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
Her case was sent last month to a grand jury. It has sparked a nationwide controversy regarding the treatment of pregnant women, particularly Black women, following the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump brought attention to Watts' situation in a post on X, formerly Twitter, and supporters have raised over $100,000 through GoFundMe to support her legal defense, medical expenses, and trauma counseling.
The issue of whether individuals seeking abortions should face criminal charges is a topic of debate within the anti-abortion community. However, in the aftermath of Dobbs, pregnant women like Watts, who had no intention of seeking an abortion, are increasingly being charged with "crimes against their own pregnancies," according to Grace Howard, an assistant professor of justice studies at San José State University.
"Roe previously prevented the charging of felonies for unintentional harm to pregnancies, as women were legally permitted to terminate their pregnancies through abortion," Howard explained. "Now that Roe has been overturned, that barrier no longer exists."
Michele Goodwin, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, and the author of "Policing The Womb," stated that these efforts have historically disproportionately targeted Black and brown women.
Even prior to the overturning of Roe, studies have shown that Black women who sought prenatal care at hospitals were ten times more likely than white women to have child protective services and law enforcement contacted, even when their circumstances were similar, Goodwin noted.
In the aftermath of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization Supreme Court ruling, the landscape of abortion rights in the United States has become uncertain. District attorneys and prosecutors are flexing their muscles, eager to demonstrate their commitment to enforcing state laws. This has led to a rise in cases targeting women who violate these laws, with Black women being particularly affected. They are seen as "canaries in the coal mine," facing the brunt of the hyper-vigilant policing that women of all races can now expect from healthcare providers, law enforcers, and courts.
A notable example of this aggressive approach is seen in Texas, where Attorney General Ken Paxton successfully defended the state's restrictive abortion law against a white Texas mother, Kate Cox. Cox had sued for permission to terminate her pregnancy due to a fatal condition.
In Ohio, a similar situation unfolded when Tamesha Watts experienced a miscarriage. At the time, Ohio allowed abortions up to 21 weeks and six days of pregnancy. However, Watts faced delays in receiving care as hospital officials deliberated over the legalities of the situation. The fear of potentially constituting an abortion caused hesitation and uncertainty.
This incident occurred during a period of intense campaigning in Ohio regarding Issue 1, a proposed amendment to protect the right to abortion in the state's constitution. Anti-abortion ads targeting later abortions were prevalent, fueling fears and debates about the limits of reproductive rights.
According to B. Jessie Hill, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Mercy Health-St. Joseph's was faced with a difficult decision. The hospital did not respond to requests for confirmation or comment.
Hill stated that healthcare providers are being forced to make tough choices, with the fear of criminal liability pushing hospitals to be conservative. This is the impact of Dobbs, she explained.
During that week, Watts was admitted to the Catholic hospital twice due to vaginal bleeding. However, she left without receiving any treatment. A nurse informed the 911 dispatcher that Watts returned on Friday and was no longer pregnant. Watts allegedly told the nurse that "the baby's in her backyard in a bucket" and that she did not want to have a child.
Watts claims that she does not remember saying the pregnancy was unwanted, but rather unintended. She had always wanted to give her mother a grandchild. Her lawyer suggests that Watts may have meant that she did not want to retrieve the dead fetus from the bucket of blood, tissue, and feces that she had scooped from her overflowing toilet.
During Watts' recent preliminary hearing, her lawyer argued that demonizing a 33-year-old woman with no criminal record for something that happens every day is unfair.
According to Warren Assistant Prosecutor Lewis Guarnieri, Watts left home for a hair appointment after miscarrying, which resulted in a clogged toilet. The police later discovered the fetus stuck in the pipes.
Guarnieri told the judge that the issue at hand is not how or when the child died, but rather the fact that the baby was left in the toilet, causing it to become clogged, while Watts continued with her day.
During the court proceedings, Timko, Watts' attorney, expressed her disagreement with Guarnieri's statement.
Timko argued that Watts was scared, anxious, and traumatized by the experience, and was trying to protect herself. She stated that Watts did not want to get her hair done, but instead wanted to address the heavy bleeding and grieve for her fetus.
Diane Barber, the lead prosecutor on Watts' case and chief counsel to the county's child assault protection unit, stated that she could not comment specifically on the case. However, she mentioned that once the case was bound over from municipal court, the county was obligated to move forward with it. Barber also mentioned that she does not expect a grand jury finding this month.
She added that approximately 20% of cases do not get indicted and therefore do not proceed.
During the preliminary hearing, the size and stage of development of Watts' fetus became a focal point in determining the legality of abortion. It was confirmed through testimony and an autopsy that the fetus had died before being born. No recent injuries were found in relation to abuse. The complexities of the case were acknowledged by Ivanchak, who stated that there are better scholars to determine the legal status of the fetus. Timko, a former prosecutor, pointed out that Ohio's abuse-of-corpse statute is vague and lacks a clear definition of "corpse." Howard emphasized the need for clarity in determining the criminal nature of Watts' behavior.
"This is a significant victory for the rights of individuals with the ability to become pregnant," stated a spokesperson. "The miscarriage experienced by the woman in question was a common occurrence. Therefore, we are left wondering what the prosecutor believes she should have done differently. Requiring individuals to bring in used menstrual products to hospitals for verification of a miscarriage is both absurd and invasive, not to mention cruel."
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It should be noted that the case was actually sent to a grand jury last month, not last week.
