Georgia v. Kenlissia Jones

In 2015, Kenlissia Jones was arrested and held without bond in Georgia on the charge of "malice murder" for allegedly using the drug misoprostol to have an abortion at home, outside of a medical setting. After Pregnancy Justice and local allies spoke out again st the arrest, the County prosecutor concluded that there existed no legal grounds in Georgia for charging a pregnant woman with murder for terminating her own pregnancy (and issued a press release to that effect). While the murder charge against Ms. Jones was dropped and she was released from jail, this occurred only after she had endured the trauma of an arrest, incarceration for several days, and violation of her rights to medical and personal privacy.

Manuela and her family

Pregnancy Justice, working with the Reproductive Justice Clinic at NYU School of Law, submitted an amicus curiae brief in the case of Manuela and her family to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In February 2008, a woman identified as Manuela went to a hospital in El Salvador after experiencing an obstetric emergency at home.

Arkansas v. Anne Bynum

Pregnancy Justice represented Anne Bynum as counsel on her successful direct criminal appeal. In Arkansas, local law enforcement alleged that Ms. Bynum took misoprostol pills to induce an abortion (although in fact she planned to deliver the baby, and had an adoption plan in place) . Her pregnancy ended in a stillbirth late at night while she was in her home . Following the stillbirth, she safeguarded the remains and slept for several hours before helping to get her son ready and off to school.

Commonwealth of Virginia v. Michelle Roberts

In March 2017 the state of Virginia indicted Michelle Roberts for the felony charge of “producing an abortion or miscarriage.” In early 2016 the Chesterfield, Virginia police department obtained a search warrant and found fetal remains buried in Ms. Roberts’s back yard.

Pregnancy Justice and NYU Law School's Reproductive Justice Clinic, along with more than twenty leading international human rights and public health experts, submitted an amicus (friend of the court) brief to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the "Commission") in support of Manuela, a woman who died in prison after being convicted under El Salvador's total abortion ban.

In Nevada, Pregnancy Justice helped to get a charge of "felony drug use" against a pregnant woman dismissed. The charge was based upon an unconfirmed clinical drug screen result that was performed for the purpose of medical treatment being provided to a pregnant woman in the hospital.

On January 9, 2017 Anna Yocca of Tennessee pleaded guilty to attempted procurement of a miscarriage a class E Felony, in exchange for her immediate release from jail.

Her case dates back to December 8, 2015, when Tennessee prosecutors indicted Ms. Yocca for attempted first degree murder based on the claim that she had used a coat hanger in an attempt to terminate her approximately 24 week pregnancy.

Indiana Court of Appeals Rules that Legislature Did Not Intend to Punish Women Who Have Abortions

Patel’s Conviction for Neglect of a Dependent Modified, Reducing Her Sentence

On July 22, 2016, the Indiana Court of Appeals announced its decision to overturn the conviction of Purvi Patel for the crime of feticide.

U.S. Supreme Court: Whole Woman's Health
January 05, 2016

Brief of Amici Curiae Pregnancy Justice and organizations that advance pregnant and parenting women's and families' rights in support of Whole Woman's Health (01/05/2015)

October 30, 2015
Trial Court: State of Indiana v. Purvi Patel
Brief filed in the St. Joseph Superior Court

Brief of Amicus Curiae Pregnancy Justice, Health and Bioethics Experts, Reproductive Justice and Women's Rights Organizations (11/6/14)

Appellate Court: Purvi Patel v. State of Indiana
Briefs filed in the Court of Appeals of Indiana

Appellant's Brief - Filed by Attorneys Joel Schumm and Lawrence C. Marshall

Brief of Amicus Curiae Pregnancy Justice, Health and Bioethics Experts, Reproductive Justice and Women's Rights Organizations (10/1/15)

Brief of Amici Curiae Asian-American and Pacific Islander Organizations in Support of Appellant

Brief of Amici Curiae National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum and Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, et al.