Recent legal fights in Ohio provide a glimpse of how even sweeping abortion protections don’t automatically undo the effects of restrictions, and could lead to new ones. Last year, Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment enshrining the right to an abortion. But pro-abortion-rights advocates in the state are still fighting to throw out the state’s … Read more
The majority of cases did not require prosecutors to find evidence that the fetus was harmed Read more at Salon
More than 200 of the 210 recorded prosecutions involve allegations of substance use during pregnancy. In almost 200 of the cases, prosecutors charged people using statutes that criminalize child abuse, neglect, or endangerment – charges that treat an embryo or fetus as a person, complete with rights and protections that may compete with that of … Read more
This near-total abortion ban pushed through by far-right local politicians will only exacerbate Louisiana’s dire maternal mortality crisis, which has seen low-income Black Lousianians suffer a disproportionately high rate of preventable deaths. In effect, this ban has ushered the War on Drugs into the realm of abortion care, sentencing pregnant people—particularly Black pregnant people—to profound, … Read more
Terrified you might be losing your pregnancy, you rush to the emergency room — only to be told that no one there will care for you, because they’re worried they could be accused of participating in an abortion. The staff tells you to drive to another hospital, but that will take hours, by which time, … Read more
Anti-abortion activists have sought full legal rights for embryos since the Seventies. Today, Alabamians are learning the true cost of that fight, from IVF access to miscarriage management and pregnancy criminalization Read more at Rolling Stone
By inhibiting drug development, economic growth, and military recruitment, as well as driving doctors away from the places they’re needed most, bans almost certainly harm you — yes, you. Read more at Vox
With near-total bans on abortion in 14 states, the laws on miscarriage are vague – stoking fears of criminal consequences Read more at The Guardian
Beene said Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights fears the case will deter other women from seeking miscarriage care. The organization also shared its letter, dated Dec. 15, with the Warren mayor, law director and city council members, in hopes of building support for dropping charges against Watts. Read more at The Hill
Despite expert testimony advocating the pregnancy was not viable, the case went viral this weekend when a judge decided that she will face a grand jury. This is another story contributing to the trend of pregnancy-related criminalization continuing across the country. Read more at Cleveland.com
