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submitted 11 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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.

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[-] zeppo@lemmy.world 205 points 11 months ago

police removed her toilet from her home and searched it

Everything about this is insane and exactly what sensible people thought would happen.

[-] Birdie@thelemmy.club 102 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

That's what it took to get to the fetus and remove it. And they're blaming her for not doing it. There she was with a partially retained placenta, in danger of bleeding out, and she had the nerve to leave her toilet intact in order to obtain timely life saving health care.

And don't forget, she'd been to the hospital multiple times and left because she wasn't receiving care...all hospital caregivers and 'legal teams' were too busy trying to figure out if they could legally remove a dead fetus; they wouldn't do what needed to be done. Just left her sitting there while they argued intent of the law versus letter of the law.

"She put the fetus into the toilet." No, she didn't. The fetus was expelled into the toilet, along with bodily waste. She tried to get everything out, but she couldn't.

"She then went about her day." No, she didn't. She went to the hospital. She was bleeding (probably heavily) due to part of the placenta being left attached.

That's just two of the twisted statements the prosecutor has made in order to make this woman look like a heartless SOB.

It's gone too far, and short of removing Republicans from office and justices from the court, I don't know what we can do. They are prosecuting this woman to punish her for miscarrying in an inconvenient place.

It's worth mentioning that just 11 days earlier, had her miscarriage happened at the hospital, it would have been disposed of as medical waste...incinerated. 11 freaking days, and the state is criminalizing her.

[-] pete_the_cat@lemmy.world 31 points 11 months ago

This is one of the many reasons that I hate people: "10 days and you're fine, 12 days and you're a murderer". People that follow the law to the number are a scourge on humanity.

[-] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 29 points 11 months ago

If there is a God.....

Firstly he's a piece of shit for creating this universe the way it is

Secondly he's a piece of shit of allowing all this to happen

Thirdly, he, in all his emptiness and nothingness, deserves all the aholes that firmly believe that they should live in eternity with him.

[-] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 22 points 11 months ago

If God is omnipotent, omniscient and wholly good, whence evil? If God wills to prevent evil but cannot, then He is not omnipotent. If He can prevent evil but does not, then he is not good. In either case he is not God.
-David Hume

If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all-powerful.
If God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good.
If God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does evil exist?
-Epicurus

[-] pete_the_cat@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

He has a plan though! Just remember that! /s

[-] nitefox@sh.itjust.works 0 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I like to think that neo-plato stuff is very neat. “God” is essentially good cause he creates and expands, but he doesn’t have a conscientious nor a great design, so in a way God doesn’t really exist as an entity but its existence itself. Evil in this isn’t a force on its own, it’s merely the failing of a non perfect conscious being (humanity)

Which is neat and makes ton of sense imo

[-] Ultragramps@lemmy.blahaj.zone 35 points 11 months ago

Facts. The people loudly freaking out at the Supreme Court were right all along. Innocent women will be punished during a traumatic experience that is more than punishment enough. The amount of shame for this and other consequences of Conservative legislation will need to be applied for generations. They have proven to be a lice or bedbug infestation and proper treatment is necessary.

[-] zeppo@lemmy.world 23 points 11 months ago

It was already happening in places with severe abortion restrictions like El Salvador:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-61798330
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/salvadoran-women-jailed-decades-miscarriages-stillbirths-warn-us-abort-rcna33035
https://theconversation.com/el-salvadors-abortion-ban-jails-women-for-miscarriages-and-stillbirths-now-one-womans-family-seeks-international-justice-156484

The abortion ban is so broadly enforced that even women who suffer miscarriages and stillbirths can be prosecuted for murder. Now an international court will decide for the first time whether these laws violate the human rights of Salvadoran women.

Hmm... the US is a member of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and signed but never ratified the treaty. Great. The court did actually determine that El Salvador needed to change their policies, which were basically the same as the ones the Christian Fascists have come up with in Texas, Ohio, etc.

https://reproductiverights.org/case/manuela-v-el-salvador-inter-american-court-of-human-rights/

[-] crandlecan@mander.xyz 22 points 11 months ago

I heard she did something a few years back that really upset Baby Jesus and made him cry! I'm certain God knows what he's doing!!

[-] Ultragramps@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

That “mysterious ways” argument has rationalized an incalculable amount of unnecessary pain.

[-] anon_8675309@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

These are the images the Democrats need to sear into the minds of all voters. This is pure 1984 dystopian bullshit.

this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2023
567 points (99.0% liked)

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