Staggering: 200+ Women Face Criminal Charges for Pregnancy Post-Dobb!
In the year following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end the constitutional right to abortion in June 2022, over 200 pregnant women faced criminal charges for actions linked to their pregnancy, pregnancy loss, or childbirth, according to a report by Pregnancy Justice.
This nonprofit group advocates for the rights of pregnant individuals, including the right to abortion.
Researchers from multiple states tracked 210 cases of women charged for pregnancy-related issues in 12 states from June 2022 to June 2023, following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
This decision shifted the matter to state governments, and several states took action in response.
Most charges involved substance use during pregnancy; two-thirds of these cases solely focused on that issue. States like Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas accounted for most of these documented cases.
The report, using improved data collection, highlights a rise in criminal cases against pregnant women compared to previous years.
According to Lourdes Rivera, president of Pregnancy Justice, this trend appears to be linked to stricter abortion laws in certain states, which leads to more scrutiny of pregnancy outcomes.
Interestingly, most of these prosecutions were not based on state abortion laws. Instead, law enforcement often charged these women with crimes like child neglect or endangerment, extending the definition of a “child” to include a fetus. This legal concept, known as fetal personhood, grants a fetus the same rights as a person who has been born.
Rivera pointed out that focusing only on abortion laws ignores the broader issue of women being criminalized for actions during pregnancy or pregnancy loss. She emphasized that the expansion of fetal personhood drives this trend, leading to more severe criminal charges against pregnant women.
Charges like child abuse or endangerment carry stiffer penalties, including higher fines and longer prison sentences, compared to lesser drug charges that might have been levied if the women were not pregnant.
Wendy Bach, a professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law, explained that prosecutors use the idea of fetal personhood to bring general criminal charges against pregnant women.
This legal approach treats the fetus as a victim of the pregnant woman’s actions, even if no specific law explicitly addresses pregnancy.
In recent legislative sessions, conservative lawmakers in states like Alaska, Illinois, Missouri, South Carolina, and West Virginia have introduced bills related to fetal personhood.
However, none of these bills advanced to become law. Meanwhile, in Nebraska, voters will decide on amendments regarding abortion rights and fetal viability in an upcoming ballot.
Supporters of these charges argue that prosecuting women for actions that may harm a fetus encourages them to seek medical care or treatment for substance abuse.
Jody Willoughby, the district attorney in Etowah County, Alabama, has defended these prosecutions, stating that failing to act would make his office complicit in substance abuse.
Critics, however, believe that these prosecutions discourage women from seeking help due to fear of arrest or losing custody of their children. The report found that most women charged were of low income, with a significant number being white.
Alabama leads the nation in prosecuting pregnant women, accounting for nearly half of all cases documented in the report.
The state has a constitutional amendment affirming personhood for fetuses and prioritizing the protection of “unborn children.” Most charges in Alabama are related to the state’s chemical endangerment law, which was expanded in 2013 to include fetuses.
The trend of pregnancy-related prosecutions is growing, with some counties in Alabama showing a rise in chemical endangerment charges since the Dobbs ruling.
Local district attorneys significantly influence how aggressively these cases are pursued.
According to Brittany VandeBerg, a researcher from the University of Alabama, Alabama’s limited resources for treating substance use disorders leave law enforcement with few options other than arresting pregnant women.
She noted that many women were charged even when their newborns showed no signs of harm.
In one notable case, a pregnant woman in Oklahoma was acquitted after being charged with child neglect despite her baby being born healthy.
She was prosecuted for using legally prescribed medical marijuana during her pregnancy, highlighting the role of fetal personhood in these cases.
Pregnancy Justice also reported a few cases where charges specifically mentioned abortion.
These were often classified as homicide or child neglect rather than directly falling under state abortion laws.
This report indicates a growing trend in the criminalization of pregnancy-related conduct, driven by expanding interpretations of fetal personhood laws.
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As legal and political debates continue, the impact on pregnant women, especially those in vulnerable situations, remains a significant concern.