(RepublicanNews.org) – A grand jury in Ohio decided that a woman who suffered a recent miscarriage would not face indictment for charges of abusing a corpse after leaving the child’s remains in her toilet when she went to the hospital for treatment.
A statement from the prosecutor’s office of Trumbull County revealed that on Thursday, January 11th, a grand jury decided against charging 34-year-old Brittany Watts with felony abuse of a corpse. Around 22 weeks into her pregnancy, Watts experienced a miscarriage in the bathroom of her residence on September 22nd, 2023, after doctors told Watts her pregnancy would not be viable.
The dead fetus was miscarried in the toilet, after which she traveled to the hospital to seek assistance. Police were notified of the miscarriage and investigated the situation, discovering the child’s remains at her home. In November, the case was sent for consideration before a grand jury.
Traci Timko, Watts’ attorney, posted a statement on Facebook after the announcement, which said that “justice has been served” and her client is “vindicated.” She expressed gratitude to the grand jury and stated that, since the beginning, Watts’ legal team was adamant that the charges against their client were not supported by Ohio law.
The specific law states that a human corpse should not be treated in any way “that would outrage reasonable community sensibilities.” Timko read this part of the law to the crowd at the rally and said that element could not be met by the government, adding that people who expressed outrage also “don’t understand what miscarriage looks like.”
Watts also appeared at the rally outside the courthouse and thanked supporters who stood by her in Warren, Ohio, where the mother said she was born and raised. Her case came to the attention of various local and national organizations for women’s rights, who universally condemned the charges against Watts.
The case comes in the wake of an ongoing battle across the country between red and blue states over regulating abortions following the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling of 1973 that federally legalized abortion, kicking the decision back to individual state governments.
Copyright 2024, RepublicanNews.org
