Ohio woman who miscarried may soon be charged with 'abuse of a corpse'

A grand jury may soon formally charge a woman with a fifth-degree felony of “abuse of a corpse” in Trumbull County, Ohio, after she was turned into police after miscarrying her pregnancy back in September, The Guardian reported.

Brittany Watts, who was 21 weeks and five days into her pregnancy, was admitted to the hospital on September 22 with signs that her water had broken prematurely. She ignored medical advice and left the hospital early, saying she could better emotionally process the miscarriage at home.

She ultimately ended up miscarrying at home "into the toilet, which became clogged with blood, tissue and stool," The Guardian's report stated. She says she thought that she removed the clog from the toilet and “placed it outdoors." She went to the hospital afterwards, where a nurse reported her to police.

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The group Physicians for Reproductive Rights sent an open letter to a Trumbull county prosecutor, stating that by seeking to indict Watts, "you are clearly implying that anyone who miscarries at any point in pregnancy in our state must retrieve the fetal tissue whether they are at home, at work, at school, at a restaurant or other public place and preserve it until the tissue can be disposed of properly even though Ohio law does not define what a proper disposal method would be nor require that this non-existent method be used."

"We have no doubt that women facing the threat of jail time and hefty fines will conceal the fact that they have miscarried and refuse to seek treatment," the letter stated.