West Virginia Prosecutor Warns Miscarriages Could Lead To Criminal Charges
HuffPost
Women should protect themselves by alerting law enforcement about their miscarriages, he advised.
Women who miscarry in West Virginia should be prepared to face potential criminal charges, a county prosecutor warned a local news outlet last week, saying other law enforcers have raised the possibility with him.
Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman told WVNS 59News on Friday that while he would not take any such action, a number of other prosecuting attorneys in West Virginia have discussed with him their willingness to charge women who miscarry and dispose of their own fetal remains, such as by flushing or burying them.
The charges would be under a 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 told the news outlet. “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?”
A miscarriage is often just heavier-than-normal bleeding. It sometimes involves passed tissue that looks like blood clots or a fluid-filled sac.
