No one shouldlose their rightsbecause of pregnancy
We believe in having freedom over our bodies without government control and the threat of jail. Whether someone needs medical care after a miscarriage, needs an abortion, or wants to build their family on their own terms, threatening them with investigation and arrest does nothing to make them safer. And yet, we have government officials who would rather put pregnant women in jail than give them the health care they need to thrive.
In the first two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, prosecutors charged 412 women with crimes related to their pregnancy. And while these prosecutions are spread across the country, we see some of the highest number of cases in Alabama, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.
Pregnant women deserve compassion and care, not punishment.
These stories represent the real experiences of Pregnancy Justice’s clients.
When Miranda arrived at a hospital to give birth, a nurse asked her whether she used drugs. Miranda answered truthfully that she struggled with a substance use disorder. She didn’t know it, but she was also drug tested without her consent. A few days after giving birth to her son, she was charged with felony child abuse because she tested positive for a controlled substance. When Miranda turned herself in to law enforcement, she was taken into custody, and her bail was set at $80,000. If convicted, she could spend the rest of her life in prison.
Ximena was home alone when she felt severe pain in the middle of the night. She was 27 weeks pregnant and had never felt this sort of pain before. She went to the bathroom, eventually delivering a stillborn before passing out. When she awoke, Ximena called her sister, a nurse, who called 911. When emergency personnel arrived, police asked Ximena whether her baby was born alive and if she received prenatal care. She explained that she did not have an OB-GYN and her baby did not cry or move. Police charged Ximena with concealing a birth or death and tampering with remains.
