Updated as of 1/11/2024 at 2:00 p.m. ET
A Trumbull County, Ohio grand jury declined to indict a Black woman on criminal charges after she had a miscarriage at home and allegedly flushed the remains down the toilet.
A group of supporters organized by reproductive justice groups including the Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods (ACTION), iVote Black and If/When/How gathered outside the courthouse to rally behind 34-year-old Brittany Watts in what was a nationally debated decision, per WKBN.
Police say she called 911 to report that her 22-weeks-along fetus had been stuck in her toilet after she miscarried. Prosecutors argued she should be charged with abuse of a corpse and slammed her for allegedly mishandling the baby. However, a “no-bill” was issued in the case, suggesting that the jury decided not to pin her with the felony, according to FOX 8's report.
Watts’ attorney, Traci Timko, told reporters her client was relieved that “justice was done” and can truly begin her healing journey now.
What Happened?
Watts was handed a felony charge after the traumatizing events of Sept. 22, when she sat on the toilet at 22 weeks of pregnancy and felt the baby passing through, according to the Warren Police Department. Watts heard a “big splash,” a detective said in court last month. By the time police responded to her home, they said the fetus’ remains were stuck in the toilet.
Prosecutors practically made Watts out to be a monster, saying she tried to “plunge” the fetus down the drain and left the child floating in the basin while going about her day. However, Watts’ attorneys said she was being punished for a rather normal occurrence: The Lancet found in a 2021 report Black women had a 43 percent higher risk of miscarrying in comparison to white women.
The case was closed on Nov. 2 but was reopened, according to the court docket. Warren Municipal Court Judge Terry Inavchak found probable cause to move the case forward, seeking more experts to confirm at what point something — in this case, the baby — becomes viable, per WKBN’s report.
A medical expert’s testimony lat month suggests the baby wasn’t viable at the time of the incident.
Read more from WKBN News:
Forensic pathologist Dr. George Sterbenz testified an autopsy found no injury to the fetus, and that the unborn fetus had died before passing through the birth canal. He said Watts’ medical records showed she visited the hospital twice before the delivery.
“This fetus was going to be non-viable. It was going to be non-viable because she had premature ruptured membranes — her water had broken early — and the fetus was too young to be delivered,” Sterbenz said.
An indigenous woman in Oklahoma is currently serving a four-year term for a similar incident. In 2021, 21-year-old Brittney Poolaw was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for having a miscarriage prosecutors say was a result of drug use.
In a statement, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, now known as Pregnancy Justice, said Oklahoma’s murder statutes don’t apply to miscarriages that occur before 20 weeks of pregnancy, via CBS News.