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.

  • TheFonz@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    What in ever fuck are you smoking? Is civics no longer taught in school ??? Walk us through the path to get this enshrined in the constitution. I’m really curious how that’s happening.

    • chitak166@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      I’m not going to take your comment seriously because you started off insulting me.

      Learn to behave like an adult or you will be treated as a child.

      • T00l_shed@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Ok, let me try.

        What? Is civics no longer taught in school ??? Walk us through the path to get this enshrined in the constitution. I’m really curious how that’s happening.

        There is that better?

      • TheFonz@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        I’m just baffled by how many comments I see displaying a complete ignorance of the legislative process in this country. “Why don’t the Dems magically enshrine abortion in the constitution?” Oh gosh golly mr!