Photo: Moment RF
Women who miscarry in West Virginia could face criminal charges, a county prosecutor said.
According to WVNS 59News, Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman said his colleagues have weighed pursuing criminal charges against women who miscarry and dispose of their own fetal remains, such as by flushing or burying them.
The charges would fall under state law related to the disposal of human remains. Though abortion is highly restricted in West Virginia, state law says women cannot face criminal charges for their own abortions.
“The kind of criminal jeopardy you face is going to depend on a lot of factors,” Truman said. “What was your intent? What did you do? How late were you in your pregnancy? Were you trying to hide something, were you just so emotionally distraught you couldn’t do anything else?”
Women should be cautious of what they say to others before miscarrying, Truman warned.
“If you were relieved, and you had been telling people, ‘I’d rather get ran over by a bus than have this baby,’ that may play into law enforcement’s thinking, too,” the prosecuting attorney said.
Truman also suggested that women notify authorities about a miscarriage.
“Call your doctor. Call law enforcement, or 911, and just say, ‘I miscarried. I want you to know,’” he said.
Women have previously faced charges over the handling of their miscarriages. In 2023, Brittany Watts of Ohio was charged with abuse of a corpse after she flushed the fetal remains from her miscarriage at 21 weeks of pregnancy.
“This 33-year-old girl with no criminal record is demonized for something that goes on every day,” Watts’ attorney, Traci Timko, previously said at one of her court hearings.
Last year, a grand jury ultimately declined to charge Watts.
A Georgia woman was also arrested in April for allegedly throwing away fetal remains from her miscarriage.
Her case “impacts every single woman out there of reproductive age, who knows she can get pregnant, who knows she can miscarry,” Georgia state Sen. Sally Harrell previously said in a statement. “It makes every woman of reproductive age afraid.”
Truman noted that he wouldn't be pursuing charges against women who miscarry in West Virginia, but he has been in discussion with other prosecuting attorneys who are considering such action.
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