The 33-year-old Watts, who had not shared the news of her pregnancy even with her family, made her first prenatal visit to a doctor’s office behind Mercy Health-St. Joseph’s Hospital in Warren, a working-class city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) southeast of Cleveland.

The doctor said that, while a fetal heartbeat was still present, Watts’ water had broken prematurely and the fetus she was carrying would not survive. He advised heading to the hospital to have her labor induced, so she could have what amounted to an abortion to deliver the nonviable fetus. Otherwise, she would face “significant risk” of death, according to records of her case.

That was a Tuesday in September. What followed was a harrowing three days entailing: multiple trips to the hospital; Watts miscarrying into, and then flushing and plunging, a toilet at her home; a police investigation of those actions; and Watts, who is Black, being charged with abuse of a corpse. That’s a fifth-degree felony punishable by up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.

    • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      It’s a good question. Democrats are the primary force capable of not letting this happen … but they did.

      • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        They had the presidency and Congress.

        They had the power to hold up the entire legislative agenda until Roe was codified if they wanted.

        Instead, they just raised money and did nothing else.

        • Anomaline@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          I’m sure the Democrats doing nothing for four years and shutting down the government because the Republicans won’t help them codify abortion is gonna work out in their favor, lmao.

          This is why critical thinking should be emphasized more in school.

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      No I didn’t.

      I’m honestly surprised you all saw Democrats use Roe repeal to raise money and otherwise didn’t do jack shit to try and stop it even though they had the presidency and control of Congress.