- cross-posted to:
- women@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- women@lemmy.world
A 24-year-old Tifton woman faces criminal charges after experiencing a miscarriage, raising concerns about the application of Georgia’s strict abortion legislation.
What We Know: Selena Maria Chandler-Scott was arrested and charged with concealing the death of another person and abandonment of a dead body following a medical emergency on March 20. According to police reports, emergency services responded to Brookfield Mews Apartments around 6 a.m. Thursday after receiving a call about an unconscious woman who was bleeding. Medical personnel determined she had suffered a miscarriage and transported her to Tift Regional Medical Center for treatment.
Police claim a witness reported that Chandler-Scott had placed the fetal remains in a bag and disposed of it in a dumpster outside the apartment complex. Officers later recovered these remains, which were sent for autopsy.
The Autopsy: According to the autopsy, the fetus was 19 weeks old at the time of the miscarriage. There were no signs of trauma and the fetus did not take a breath. The coroner’s office ruled it to be a occurring miscarriage. At 19 weeks, a fetus is about the size of a mango and lungs are just beginning to develop but are not fully developed yet.
In Context: Georgia’s “heartbeat law,” officially the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. The law also grants personhood status to embryos and fetuses, potentially exposing women who miscarry to criminal charges if authorities believe they contributed to the pregnancy loss or improperly handled fetal remains.
Reproductive rights advocates have warned that such laws could criminalize women experiencing pregnancy complications or miscarriages. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, miscarriages occur in about 10-20% of known pregnancies, with most happening in the first trimester.
What Should Women Who Miscarry Do?: We asked several Tifton Police Department and Tift County officials what women who miscarry should do with the remains of the fetus. So far, only Tift District Attorney Patrick Warren has answered and said typically miscarriages are not handled in this manner.
“There is no applicable case law on this issue as it is generally deemed a medical condition and prosecution is not warranted. Georgia courts have held that once a baby is ‘born alive and has had an independent and separate existence from its mother’ then what happens to the child (injury or death) will be subject to criminal prosecution,” Warren said.
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Yeah, sure. We were assured Roe wouldn’t get overturned. But let’s just say it magically did, we were told women who had miscarriages wouldn’t have to worry. The Republicans. Told. Us. So this is just a big fat lie. La la la la la, I can’t hear you …
Gilead here we come
Women with miscarriages won’t have to worry, just like immigrants who are in the country legally won’t have to worry
Before someone misreads my comment, my point is both groups DO have to worry
I get to be one of the bodies left to rot after a public hanging!
Can you imagine suffering a miscarriage, which must be traumatic, and then having to hide the fetus in case you get arrested for murder.
This poor woman was in a lose / lose situation.
Truly, even the article set her up to lose. Talking about her throwing the remains in the dumpster to make us think about parents who have done that with living babies.
When I took a second to think further, I was questioning why the hell she even had the remains in the first place! She was taken to a hospital, presumably to have them removed, did the doctors just give them back and expect her to take it to the nearest biohazard dump? Ridiculous.
My interpretation of her having to hide the remains is that she couldn’t afford to go to a hospital and have things dealt with properly.
This woman is a victim of the shameful state of US healthcare and repressive law.
Didn’t consider that she gave it to herself and the transportation to the medical centre was for post-care. Absolutely horrible for her, and exactly what you said, shameful of the US system.
“The purpose of a system is what it does” comes to mind. The laws are intended to make life worse for women.
“At 19 weeks, a fetus is about the size of a mango…”. Anything but the metric system!
WHY THE FUCK WOULD ANY WOMAN AGREE TO LIVE IN A CONFEDERATE STATE
Leave asap.
Moving is expensive.
Is that how you think this works? Nobody gets to choose where they’re born, and people tend to stay close to their families or other support systems, and their jobs. They might have partners or kids who are similarly invested in the area. Not so easy.
We really need to organize and remove the conservatives from power. Peacefully is ideal, but I won’t be upset if all the republicans are hanged.
Every state is at risk of having this happen with the federal government the way it is, and it’s not so easy to emigrate to some other country.
Or the USA in general (if they have the means to escape)
They need to just start locking any women up who becomes pregnant just as a precaution.
Babies born into the prison labor force. That’s a great idea!
From cradle to slave workforce. What a beautiful future the republicans will create for us.
hold em outside the use and the kids won’t be US citizens
Aren’t there states where they were discussing denying exiting state lines while pregnant?
Pregnancy camps!
Supervised pregnancy. Why not.
Having sex with a man in the US is literally a risk to your life. America needs a sex strike until abortion rights are enshrined into law.
Then the ruling class will quickly decide that rape is no longer a crime. Or, if that is frowned upon, will put in place rediculous rules for proof which the raped girls and women will have to provide. Something like 20 male witnesses, none of whom are relatives.
Rape already requires an often unattainable burden of proof for which other crimes do not. Male sexual violence against women is also so prolific and so often unpunished that rapists can be senators or even presidents. The overwhelming majority of rape never results in any negative consequences for rapists.
Refusing to participate in sexual relationships with men is a part of the collective action women can take. Women as a class are rapidly losing all bodily autonomy and all civil rights in the US. Having sex with men is literally dangerous. Refusing to do so isn’t just a means of striking but also because it’s literally not safe.
Brett Kavanaugh comes to mind.
Nobody wants this but it might be time for women to collectively put their vaginas on strike. Shit would change in a week.
I don’t trust the Magaturds to not force themselves on women anyways.
As written in 411 BCE by Aristophanes as Lysistrata
It also worked for Þjódhild Jorundsdottir when she refused to sleep with Erik the Red until he converted to Christianity.
That’s hilarious
I recommend this movie version: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisístrata
It was supposed to be a comedy, not reality
We can’t have children, the way we do it.
“Raising concerns”
Y’all should be raising some firearms and exercising your second amendment rights.
In Context: Georgia’s “heartbeat law,” officially the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act
Wait. Are we doing DEI again?
Yep, select groups only.
And if you have to ask, no you’re too poor.
Anyone else remember the unhinged right saying normal Americans were being hysterical when talking about Gilead states after the corrupted donvict court struck down 50 years of law?
Police and attornies could be solving actual crimes instead they’re spending millions of dollars suspecting women of having broken the breeding laws.
Ghoulish. Just absolutely cruel and unnecessary. Everything about this is terrible and every single one of the fools who voted for this measure should be ashamed of themselves.
But they won’t. Shame can’t enter their smug lil’ minds.
Georgia courts have held that once a baby is ‘born alive and has had an independent and separate existence from its mother’ then what happens to the child (injury or death) will be subject to criminal prosecution,” Warren said.
…then why isn’t that what the law says? Basically admits completely by accident that a fetus isn’t a person. But you don’t get to control people that way.
typically miscarriages are not handled in this manner
But in the Republic of Gilead, options may be limited and people may resort to desperate measures.
