An Ohio woman is charged with abuse of a corpse after she suffered a miscarriage at home and tried to flush the fetus down the toilet.
Brittany Watts, 33, had a miscarriage in the bathroom of her Warren home in the third week of September. It was her first pregnancy.
She was admitted to Mercy Health St. Joseph Warren Hospital twice earlier this week when she suffered excruciating cramps and bleeding.
However, on both occasions she left to see a doctor after waiting for hours.
“I was distraught, heartbroken, empty — literally and figuratively,” Watts told WCMH-TV. She didn't tell anyone in her family about the pregnancy.
Brittany Watts, 33, was charged with gross abuse of a corpse after she suffered a miscarriage at her home in Warren, Ohio
After attempting to flush the fetus down the toilet, Watts was taken to the hospital, where a nurse called 911 and claimed that Watts said she didn't want the baby
Watts was just 22 weeks pregnant when she suffered a miscarriage. It was her first pregnancy
After the miscarriage, which she suffered just over 22 weeks pregnant, Watts flushed the toilet.
When the toilet overflowed, she used a bucket to clean up. Since she didn't want anyone to know about the pregnancy, Watts then went to the salon for a hair appointment.
But the hairdresser was worried and called her mother. Watts was taken to the hospital, where a nurse called 911.
According to the logs, the nurse told a dispatcher that Watts had been taken to the hospital earlier in the week with bleeding and left the hospital “against medical advice.”
“On Wednesday she came back still bleeding and said, 'Maybe I need to be seen after all.'” “So we took her back in and discussed everything with her and then she disappeared,” the nurse continued.
She said Watts admitted putting the fetus in a bucket and leaving it outside her home and also said she didn't want the baby.
However, Warren police discovered that the fetus was still stuck in the toilet. Watts was later arrested and charged with gross abuse of a corpse, a fifth-degree felony.
Watts was told the fetus was not viable, according to attorney Traci Timko, who previously served as the city's deputy legal director.
Watts appeared in court on November 2nd. Her attorney, Traci Timko, said the fetus was not viable and a forensic pathologist confirmed it died before passing through the birth canal
In the 911 call, the nurse told dispatchers that Watts had been admitted to the hospital earlier in the week and left “against medical advice.”
“It's a lot of pain, it's a lot of emotions, and she was terrified,” Timko said of her client. “There were so many things going on that she was trying to deal with at the same time.”
Watts said she felt “angry, scared, betrayed, confused and nervous” when she was arrested.
“Every negative emotion you can conjure up in the English language, I felt it,” she continued.
A preliminary hearing was held Nov. 2 in Warren Municipal Court.
When Detective Nick Carney took the stand, he said Watts “said she felt the baby come out and there was a big splash.”
No injuries were found on the fetus, according to a forensic pathologist who testified that the fetus died before passing through the birth canal.
The judge found probable cause to send the case to the Trumbull County grand jury for consideration.
Last week, Attorney General Dennis Watkins released a memo saying his office was “committed” to complying with Ohio law.
Under Ohio law, a person must treat a corpse “in a manner that would offend the reasonable feelings of the community” to be eligible for felony charges
Ohio Senate Bill 27 makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to dispose of fetal remains by any means other than cremation or burial. However, this law typically applies to health care facilities such as abortion clinics
State law contains regulations for the misdemeanor offense of corpse abuse and the criminal offense of gross corpse abuse.
To qualify for a felony charge, a person must “handle a human corpse in a manner that would violate the reasonable sensibilities of the community.”
Timko believes her client will be acquitted. “Ohio law is on our side,” she said.
Friends of Watts has launched a GoFundMe to cover her legal fees, writing: “We must help Brittany as she endures and fights this injustice, and we must ensure that no woman is victimized in this way again. “
The campaign has already raised over $200,000, more than double its goal.
Ohio Senate Bill 27 makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to dispose of fetal remains by any means other than cremation or burial.
However, this law typically applies to health care facilities such as abortion clinics and not private homes.
The bill proved controversial, and in February 2022, a federal judge blocked enforcement of the law after finding that it violated clinics' and patients' rights to due process and equal protection.
A year earlier, the law was blocked from taking effect because the Ohio Department of Health failed to provide the required documents.
Enforcement of the law is suspended until the final decision on the case is made.