Georgia Police Jailed Woman for Miscarriage and Performed Autopsy on Her Miscarried Fetus [View all]

[Nevilledog]

https://www.jezebel.com/georgia-police-jailed-woman-for-miscarriage-performed-autopsy-on-miscarried-fetus


A 24-year-old Georgia woman was arrested by local police last week after having a miscarriage. The woman was found unconscious and bleeding near her apartment building in Tifton, Georgia, only to be charged with “concealing the death of another person” and “abandonment of a dead body.” Police recovered fetal remains in a nearby dumpster after receiving a tip from a witness who claimed to have seen the woman disposing of the remains. Officers then collected the fetal remains to conduct an autopsy.

On Tuesday, authorities released the findings of the autopsy: According to local news station WALB, the county coroner uncovered “no signs of injury or trauma, and the baby never took a breath,” confirming that a natural miscarriage had occurred at about 19 weeks. Yet the criminal charges against the 24-year-old remain. The “concealing the death of another person” charge comes with up to 10 years in prison in Georgia, while the “abandonment of a dead body” charges comes with up to three.

About one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, and there are no legal standards or universal guidelines on how people should dispose of fetal remains. But instead of care and compassion, women and pregnant people routinely face invasive criminal investigations, highly publicized criminal trials, and even imprisonment or the threat of imprisonment for the outcomes of their pregnancies, or how they disposed of remains from a pregnancy.

The Tifton County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request from Jezebel on why the young woman continues to face criminal charges for what the county coroner deemed a natural miscarriage. Nor has the sheriff’s office commented on whether it is standard procedure for individuals in the county to be arrested and jailed after miscarrying, or whether there are steps that people who miscarry must follow to dispose of remains from their pregnancy in order to avoid criminal charges. (This is your regular reminder to never, not ever, talk to the police about the outcomes of other people’s or your own pregnancies, and to take all precautions to protect your medical privacy.)

*snip*