Ohio woman who miscarried at home won’t be charged

An Ohio grand jury on Thursday declined to indict a woman who suffered a miscarriage in her home after prosecutors argued that she violated state law regarding the handling of a dead body.

Prosecutors announced that a grand jury would not indict Brittany Watts on charges of abuse of a corpse, ending a high-profile courtroom drama over abortion rights.

A city judge had previously ruled that Watts could be held liable for the crime. Prosecutors said Watts suffered a miscarriage and tried to flush the baby down the toilet, leaving her there. She was taken to the hospital by her family, who then called the police.

Ms Watts' lawyer said she was being “demonized because of what happens every day”. Her autopsy revealed that her fetus had already died before the miscarriage.

“It was very painful, very emotional, and she was scared,” attorney Tracy Timko told WJW last month. “There was so much going on that she was trying to deal with it all at once.”

According to court records, her attorney said that during two previous visits, Watts was told by doctors that she was carrying a non-viable fetus and that labor would need to be induced or there was a “substantial risk” of death. He said he was told there was.

City Attorney Luis Guarnieri told Judge Terry Ivanchak that the issue was not “when the child died or how the child died,” but rather “if the baby was placed in a toilet and the baby was large enough to clog the toilet.” “And the fact that it was left in the bathroom is a problem.” And she went on with her day,” the Associated Press reported.

Ohio reproductive rights doctors praised the grand jury's decision in a statement Thursday.

“The grand jury's decision is a decisive step against the dangerous trend of criminalizing reproductive outcomes,” said Chair Dr. Marcela Azevedo. “This practice must be unequivocally stopped. It not only undermines women’s rights, but also threatens public health by instilling fear and hesitation in women seeking necessary medical care when they are most vulnerable. Masu.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.