# Can we justify punishing a pregnant woman for fetal death, etc.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 3, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-justify-punishing-a-pregnant-woman-for-fetal-death-etc/716731 "2015-04-03T18:56:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-justify-punishing-a-pregnant-woman-for-fetal-death-etc/716731/41 "2015-04-07T00:34:51Z")
I think what he’s saying here is that the prosecution happened because the authorities didn’t believe it was a miscarriage. Much like, sadly, some parents of SIDS kids are prosecuted, because authorities _think_ it was actual abuse. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-justify-punishing-a-pregnant-woman-for-fetal-death-etc/716731/42 "2015-04-07T15:53:08Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > I think what he’s saying here is that the prosecution happened because the authorities didn’t believe it was a miscarriage. Much like, sadly, some parents of SIDS kids are prosecuted, because authorities _think_ it was actual abuse. I think his wording threw me off. If a baby dies of SIDS, then by definition, its unexplained. If the prosecutor decides there’s abuse, then its not SIDS, its abuse. But that’s all different from miscarriages since anything happening to a fetus occurs wholly in the domain of the mother’s body. I have no problem if prosecutors want to charge a mother for the death of her baby. I have a problem if anyone tries to get between a pregnant woman and her fetus. I don’t care if she induced the miscarriage, caused it to happen, etc., she should never be charged for the death of a fetus ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-justify-punishing-a-pregnant-woman-for-fetal-death-etc/716731/43 "2015-04-07T16:12:21Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > That would go only to prove that she used illegal means to self-induce abortion, which I hope no one here, not even the “pro-lifers,” would regard as a crime meriting prison time, whatever the law might say. But the prosecution’s case was based in part on the theory that the baby was born alive. From the first story linked in the OP: According to [this study](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22733108), the lung float test had an accuracy rate of 98%. Can you explain why the jury cannot believe the prosecution’s expert testimony, and how, specifically, the test was discredited 100 years ago? Große Ostendorf et al seem to be unaware of this “discrediting,” and their study was published in the International Journal of Legal Medicine in 2013. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-justify-punishing-a-pregnant-woman-for-fetal-death-etc/716731/44 "2015-06-09T19:58:07Z")
[Here’s another one:](http://www.salon.com/2015/06/09/none_of_this_serves_a_public_health_need_america_is_criminalizing_women_for_seeking_medical_treatment/) > [@](#): > > A Georgia woman who told doctors she took medication to self-induce an abortion was arrested and charged with malice murder after she miscarried en route to the hospital. > > According to the police report, Kenlissa Jones, a 23-year-old mother to a two-year-old boy, is alleged to have purchased Cytotec from a retailer in Canada. Jones’ brother told local station WALB that she went to the hospital because she “was in a world of hurt” after taking the drug. She miscarried the fetus, estimated at just over five months gestation, while being driven to the hospital. > > In addition to the malice murder charge, Jones faces charges for possession of the drug she used to self-induce. Cytotec is the brand name of the drug misoprostol, used in the United States in combination with mifepristone in non-surgical abortion. It is safe to dispense these medications through telemedicine, but the practice has become a target for lawmakers in states hostile to abortion rights. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-justify-punishing-a-pregnant-woman-for-fetal-death-etc/716731.md?page=2)