this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2023
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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 214 points 10 months ago (5 children)

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 113 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (10 children)

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 35 points 10 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 32 points 10 months ago (3 children)

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 27 points 10 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 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

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

[–] nitefox@sh.itjust.works 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 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

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[–] Ultragramps@lemmy.blahaj.zone 35 points 10 months ago (1 children)

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 24 points 10 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 21 points 10 months ago (1 children)

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 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

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

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

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

[–] Quadhammer@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Wait until they hear about what happens to nazis

[–] BoiLudens@lemmy.world 104 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Man whenever I bring up these kind of things to my parents, it’s always like, “well there’ll surely be an exception for it”. The reality is there’s never an exception for it. The exception has to be fought for at the expense of the victim

[–] TechyDad@lemmy.world 41 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Just look at the "life of the mother exceptions." There was a recent case where the fetus was all but dead and the woman's life was in danger. She actually wanted the child, but carrying it to term and delivering it could have killed her.

Seems like an ideal life of the mother situation, right? Except the doctors said she wasn't close enough to death. So she sued in court to get the law overturned. She won the right to have an abortion, but then the AG threatened the hospitals/doctors. Then the Texas Supreme Court ruled that she was at risk of dying, but she wasn't CLOSE ENOUGH to death to qualify. So basically she had to be actively dying to get an abortion and even then it might not be good enough.

It's ridiculous.

[–] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 25 points 10 months ago (2 children)

All the exceptions are fake. How long does a rape conviction take to secure, assuming the perp is actually found guilty at all? Longer than a few weeks, that’s for sure!

[–] zalgotext@sh.itjust.works 16 points 10 months ago

Considering most rape kits don't even get processed, yeah it's a hell of a lot longer than a few weeks

[–] TechyDad@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

And that's assuming that the rape is reported. Many rapes go unreported for various reasons. And requirements that the woman has to report the rape before she might be allowed to have an abortion are meant to force women into public shaming/threatening situations. ("How dare she accuse POPULAR COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER of raping her! Look at what she was wearing. She was asking for it! Why was she drinking at all? The second a woman takes a drink of alcohol, she consents to have sex.")

[–] Facebones@reddthat.com 89 points 10 months ago

"This is what's going to happen if you repeal Roe"

"nuh uh that's insane you fucking extremist LiBrUlZ that'd never happen stop spreading fear"

this is like the third case of this this month

[–] ElcaineVolta@kbin.social 66 points 10 months ago (2 children)
[–] Retrograde@lemmy.world 22 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Eh more shithole state in this example but.. yeah

[–] Vilian@lemmy.ca 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

shithole country to allow it

[–] x4740N@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

america is the earth's toilet, it's all shit down there

[–] balderdash9@lemmy.zip 50 points 10 months ago
[–] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 10 months ago

More stories like this will continue to come out. Esp if Trump is reelected.

[–] anon_8675309@lemmy.world 25 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Need a real life Bruce Wayne. Someone to spend their fortune fighting for women like this. Hire the 5 best defense attorneys in the country and start embarrassing the shit out of these hateful fucks.

[–] frustratedphagocytosis@kbin.social 23 points 10 months ago

We need to reinvent the angry mob for rescuing people from the police instead of lynching them

[–] YurkshireLad@lemmy.ca 10 points 10 months ago

I don’t know what to say to this……. I’m lost for words. Except the ones I’ve written here obviously…

[–] bufalo1973@lemmy.ml 10 points 10 months ago

Welcome to Honduras!

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