Where did Prosecutions Occur?
Documented prosecutions were initiated in 16 states: Alabama, California, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. While prosecutions were brought in all of these states, to date, the majority of the cases occurred in Alabama (192) and Oklahoma (112).
What was the Defendants’ Race and/or Ethnicity?
Information concerning the race of the defendants was dependent, like all the report data, on information contained within court, police, or jail records. This information is notoriously unreliable, particularly when it comes to recording ethnicity and multiracial identity. At times, documents reported inconsistent racial or ethnic identities for the same defendant, failed to separate race from ethnicity, or neglected to record race or ethnicity at all.
To the extent that the files did contained data on defendant’s race and ethnicity, 280 of the 412 defendants were reported as white, 63 as Black, 19 as Indigenous, 19 as Latine, 1 as non-Hispanic multiracial, and in 30 cases, no information was reported with respect to race or ethnicity.
What was the Defendants’ Economic Status?
More than three-quarters of the defendants were low-income individuals. We took indicators such as receiving court-appointed counsel or receiving a means-tested benefit like public housing, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance into account.
What were the Pregnancy Outcomes in the Cases?
Of the 412 documented cases of pregnancy criminalization, 323 contained information concerning the outcome of the pregnancy. Most cases involved a live birth, representing 292 of the 323 cases. Thirty-one cases involved fetal or infant demise. Fetal/infant demise cases include allegations that a defendant committed acts during a pregnancy that led to a pregnancy loss, including stillbirth or miscarriage, or a newborn’s death.
What Types of Charges did the Defendants Face?
Prosecutors used a variety of criminal statutes to charge the defendants in these cases, often bringing more than one charge against an individual defendant. In total, the 412 defendants faced 441 charges for conduct related to pregnancy, pregnancy loss, or birth. The majority of charges (398/440) asserted some form of child abuse, neglect, or endangerment.
Did Prosecutors Have to “Prove” Fetal Harm?
Supporters of pregnancy-related prosecutions claim these prosecutions protect the fetus from harm perpetrated by the pregnant person. However, prosecutors overwhelmingly charged pregnant people under statutes that allow them to obtain convictions without proving that the pregnant person actually harmed the fetus or infant. In 378 of the 441 charges, proof of harm was not required.
What Allegations did the Defendants Face?
Charging documents (along with supporting police reports, affidavits, and other court files) reveal a clearer picture of what acts police and prosecutors consider criminal when associated with pregnancy. Our study categorized allegations found in the assembled case files and below we have highlighted three notable allegations.
Nearly all the cases alleged that the pregnant person used a substance during pregnancy; in 268 cases, substance use was the only allegation made. And consistent with prior data, very few documented prosecutions involved an explicit abortion-related charge. However, 9 cases included allegations pertaining to abortion, such as possession of abortion medication or attempts to obtain an abortion.
Which Substances were Alleged?
As drug use patterns changed, pregnancy prosecutions shifted from targeting the use of crack cocaine to the use of methamphetamines, amphetamines, marijuana, and opiates.
Were Others Outside of the Criminal Legal System Involved in the Cases?
Our data indicates that pregnancy criminalization engages multiple systems to support prosecutions, notably the health care and family policing system (child welfare system).
In 264 cases, information supporting criminal prosecution was obtained or disclosed in a medical setting. In 217 cases, the family policing system was involved in the case. These data suggest the criminal legal system works closely with the health care system and criminal legal system to surveil and punish pregnant people.
Read Pregnancy as a Crime: An Interim Update on the First Two Years After Dobbs to learn more.
Note: This report builds on Pregnancy Justice’s 2024 report, Pregnancy as a Crime: A Preliminary Report on the First Year After Dobbs.