A Black woman in Ohio is being criminally charged for miscarrying. Brittany Watts was a little over 21 weeks pregnant when she started passing blood clots and the doctor told her the baby would not survive. After three days and multiple hospital trips, Watts had the traumatizing experience of miscarrying into her toilet.
The world after Roe is a tense one. The trauma associated with losing a baby has increased tenfold now that there's a risk of being charged with "crimes against their own pregnancies" when they didn't even want an abortion in the first place.
Add your name to tell Prosecutor Dennis Watkins to drop the charges against Brittany Watts!
At the time of Watts' miscarriage, abortion in Ohio was legal up until 21 weeks — which Brittany had just surpassed after waiting eight hours for medical care. The cause of the delay? Hospital officials arguing whether or not they could legally remove the dying fetus. Her options were nonexistent, and now on top of losing her pregnancy she could be punished with a $2,500 fine and a year in prison.
Grace Howard, assistant justice studies professor at San José State University, said that "Roe was a clear legal roadblock to charging felonies for unintentionally harming pregnancies, when women were legally allowed to end their pregnancies through abortion." Now, there's nothing separating those who miscarry and criminal punishment.
Sign your name to demand Brittany Watts be cleared of her charges immediately!
