Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Local media reports that WellStar MCG Health alerted law enforcement about a “patient who had recently given birth and left the fetus in the trash.” Remember: When people are turned in for their pregnancy outcomes, it’s most often healthcare providers who make the call. Reporters also wrote that “the body” is being sent for an autopsy at Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab, and that the Columbia County Sheriff’s office has interviewed—but not yet arrested—the woman said to have given birth. Abortion, Every Day is in the process of finding out more information, but the few key details that are already public beg the question: Why is there an investigation at all? To start, officials told reporters that the fetus was “early-term” and not viable. In other words, it was a miscarriage. Investigator Philip Clark told WJBF that it appears the woman “just kind of panicked.” Why, then, are police sending the tissue for an autopsy?"
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "As you know from Watts’ case, law enforcement and prosecutors will often target women with charges that are seemingly unrelated to abortion and pregnancy—like ‘abuse of a corpse.’ But there’s no separating the criminalization from abortion and personhood laws. After all, experts warned years ago that Georgia’s abortion ban, a 2019 fetal heartbeat law, could lead to the arrest of women. And then-president of Planned Parenthood Southeast Staci Fox predicted that women who miscarry might be pulled into criminal investigations. That’s exactly where we are right now: A woman went to a health center after miscarrying, and someone tasked with caring for her instead called law enforcement. Imagine going through a medical trauma just to find out police were sending off your fetus for an autopsy. It’s shameful. Adding insult to injury are the outlets covering this as a ‘crime’ story and running headlines about a fetus found “dead in a dumpster at Walmart.” The fact that this is becoming a common story should terrify us all."
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POST: Pregnancy Criminalization, by Feminist Writer Jessica Valenti, published by 'Abortion, Every day,' one\ July 24, 2024
GIST: "I’m sure you all remember Brittany Watts, the Ohio woman who was prosecuted for ‘abuse of a corpse’ after flushing her miscarriage. Thankfully, a grand jury declined to pursue a case against Watts—but not before local media splashed her name and face across the internet, claiming she had shoved a baby down her toilet.
What happened to Watts is exactly how criminalization happens, and followed a familiar pattern: A Black woman was turned in by a health care provider, targeted by a zealous misogynist prosecutor, and villainized by press outlets.
I’m sorry to say it appears there might be a similar case unfolding in Georgia, where police are investigating a fetus found in Grovetown.
Local media reports that WellStar MCG Health alerted law enforcement about a “patient who had recently given birth and left the fetus in the trash.” Remember: When people are turned in for their pregnancy outcomes, it’s most often healthcare providers who make the call.
Reporters also wrote that “the body” is being sent for an autopsy at Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab, and that the Columbia County Sheriff’s office has interviewed—but not yet arrested—the woman said to have given birth.
Abortion, Every Day is in the process of finding out more information, but the few key details that are already public beg the question: Why is there an investigation at all?
To start, officials told reporters that the fetus was “early-term” and not viable. In other words, it was a miscarriage. Investigator Philip Clark told WJBF that it appears the woman “just kind of panicked.”
Why, then, are police sending the tissue for an autopsy? There are no laws in Georgia that dictate how fetal remains must be disposed of—nor should there be! Do you want the government telling you how to handle a miscarriage or stillbirth? And if by some chance this was a self-managed abortion, Georgia law prohibits the prosecution of the patient.
Still, Clark says, “It’s something we have to look into code sections about, see what we can find if there is anything.”
As you know from Watts’ case, law enforcement and prosecutors will often target women with charges that are seemingly unrelated to abortion and pregnancy—like ‘abuse of a corpse.’ But there’s no separating the criminalization from abortion and personhood laws.
After all, experts warned years ago that Georgia’s abortion ban, a 2019 fetal heartbeat law, could lead to the arrest of women. And then-president of Planned Parenthood Southeast Staci Fox predicted that women who miscarry might be pulled into criminal investigations.
That’s exactly where we are right now: A woman went to a health center after miscarrying, and someone tasked with caring for her instead called law enforcement. Imagine going through a medical trauma just to find out police were sending off your fetus for an autopsy. It’s shameful. Adding insult to injury are the outlets covering this as a ‘crime’ story and running headlines about a fetus found “dead in a dumpster at Walmart.”
The fact that this is becoming a common story should terrify us all.
For more information on pregnancy criminalization, go to Pregnancy Justice, If/When/How, or read Abortion, Every Day here."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
