In a case that had drawn international attention, Brittany Watts had been charged with abuse of a corpse after miscarrying and disposing of the nonviable fetus.
A grand jury in Ohio on Thursday declined to indict a woman who had miscarried a nonviable fetus at home on a felony charge of abuse of a corpse, ending a case that had drawn international scrutiny from lawyers and reproductive health advocates who had argued the charge was baseless and could endanger other patients.
The woman, Brittany Watts, 34, of Warren, Ohio, was arrested in October after passing a fetus in her bathroom and trying to flush the remains down the toilet.
Ms. Watts was admitted to the hospital with vaginal bleeding on Sept. 19 when she was just over 21 weeks pregnant, right before the 22-week mark that would have made it a viable pregnancy under Ohio law.
The hospital notified the Warren City Police Department about the miscarriage and “the need to locate the fetus,” according to a coroner’s report.
The autopsy report found that the fetus had died in utero — before delivery — because of complications of premature rupturing of the membranes.
The case came at a time when access to reproductive health care was being debated across the country after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
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A grand jury in Ohio on Thursday declined to indict a woman who had miscarried a nonviable fetus at home on a felony charge of abuse of a corpse, ending a case that had drawn international scrutiny from lawyers and reproductive health advocates who had argued the charge was baseless and could endanger other patients.
The woman, Brittany Watts, 34, of Warren, Ohio, was arrested in October after passing a fetus in her bathroom and trying to flush the remains down the toilet.
Ms. Watts was admitted to the hospital with vaginal bleeding on Sept. 19 when she was just over 21 weeks pregnant, right before the 22-week mark that would have made it a viable pregnancy under Ohio law.
The hospital notified the Warren City Police Department about the miscarriage and “the need to locate the fetus,” according to a coroner’s report.
The autopsy report found that the fetus had died in utero — before delivery — because of complications of premature rupturing of the membranes.
The case came at a time when access to reproductive health care was being debated across the country after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
The original article contains 615 words, the summary contains 196 words. Saved 68%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!