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.

  • m-p{3}
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    1711 months ago

    Having kids is way too dangerous for a woman in the US now. That will definitely won’t backfire with the increasingly abysmal birth rate.

    • Drusas
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      811 months ago

      It’s still pretty safe* in some states, but it is on a downward trend.

      *reminder that pregnancy is always dangerous

    • DessertStorms
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      1011 months ago

      If nothing else, it’s a demonstration of the sheer ignorance of those who write, and those who enforce, these laws.
      If they had any idea how many pregnancies end in natural miscarriage their narrow minds would explode… But they still wouldn’t care - the cruelty and control are the point.

    • ToRA
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      411 months ago

      It doesn’t. That’s the problem. The laws that are being used to charge this woman are called the Fetal Personhood Laws, which are horribly vague due to a lack of medical comprehension on the part of the anti-abortionist lawmakers.