Brittany Watts, 33, was charged after police searched her toilet following her miscarriage in September.

Brittany Watts, 33, was charged after police searched her toilet following her miscarriage in September.

A Black woman in Ohio has been charged with a felony for abuse of a corpse after she miscarried into her toilet, according to a criminal complaint, and reproductive rights experts are warning that it could set a dangerous precedent if she is convicted.

The attorney for Brittany Watts and a campaign organized on her behalf called the charges against her unjust, saying they feared the case could open the door to similar prosecutions and lawsuits over miscarriages nationwide.

Just hours after Watts, 33, was admitted to a hospital for a life-threatening hemorrhage after she miscarried in her bathroom Sep. 22, police removed her toilet from her home and searched it for fetal remains, according to a GoFundMe set up to fund her legal expenses and home repairs.

“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 and is fighting for her freedom and reputation,” her attorney, Traci Timko, said in a statement.

  • Birdie@thelemmy.club
    0·
    11 months ago

    Her lawyer, Traci Timko, said Watts sat for eight hours at Mercy Health-St. Joseph’s awaiting care on the eve of her pregnancy reaching 22 weeks, before leaving without being treated.

    Timko said hospital officials were deliberating over the legalities.

    https://magicvalley.com/news/nation-world/ohio-woman-charged-with-crime-after-having-miscarriage/article_a56ffd05-4e0f-5cb1-b945-bc1d06aa536f.html

    I’ve got my grandbabies here so I don’t have the time to do a big search, but this article quotes her lawyer’s statement that at least one visit in which she left AMA, she waited EIGHT hours for help, which she did not receive. (See first quote) I’ve read another article which I can try to find after the holidays which explained that in her two visits prior to the miscarriage, she was never admitted. She went to the hospital, explained what was going on, received one examination but was NOT admitted. She left after failing to be admitted, which was considered AMA. I’m sure they’d have liked her to sit there another day or two while they continued to fail to admit her, while deliberating over legalities. (See second sentence in the quote)