Feticide is an act that causes the death of a fetus. Currently, 38 states have feticide laws in place. Many feticide laws began with the intent to prosecute anyone who performed an illegal abortion, or an abusive partner. In other cases they were formed to further punish criminal behavior such as a drunk driverhitting a pregnant woman and ending her pregnancy. Generally it was meant to apply to pregnancies past viability, therefore not including abortion, however anti-choice activists and legislators have made significant changes to feticide laws, including, in 23 states, to include pre-viability under their domain. In some states, feticide laws begin at conception.
While the laws vary from state to state, the same disturbing trend of criminalizing pregnant people for their own miscarriages is becoming a national issue.
In Indiana, Bei Bei Shuai attempted suicide while pregnant. Although she was rushed to the hospital for treatment, there were complications with her pregnancy and, after an emergency c-section, the baby hemorrhaged and was removed from life support. After 2 years fighting charges of murder and feticide, which could have put Shuai in jail for up to 45 years, a judge accepted a plea and released her on time served. While it is possible that her attempted suicide could have caused the fetal health problems, the hemorrhage could also have been caused by drugs given to her in the hospital under a doctor’s care or the premature delivery. Despite this uncertainty, Shuai’s life was torn apart.
Also in Indiana, Purvi Patel faces felony charges after miscarrying and disposing of the fetus herself. Now, not knowing whether the fetus was alive or not upon delivery, Patel could be sent to jail for decades. She and Shuai are only the beginning, though. As access to safe, legal abortion services shrinks, and as the criminalization of miscarriage grows, more pregnant people will likely resort to taking their health care into their own hands.
What causes a miscarriage?
Up to 25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Causes can range from chromosomal abnormalities to illness. Not obtaining proper pre-natal care can cause complications and miscarriage. The older a pregnant person, the greater the risk for miscarriage. Even being over or underweight can endanger a pregnancy. And, as we continue to see across the United States, any reason is sufficient to criminalize a miscarriage.
In Louisiana, a 17 year old faces a decade in prison for using cocaine during her pregnancy, despite there being no conclusive evidence that drug use caused the stillbirth. Current drug use isn’t required for loss of rights. Alicia Beltran HAD abused pills before her pregnancy, but even the history of drug use was enough to be handcuffed and have a lawyer appointed for her fetus. In Iowa a woman who went to the ER after falling down the stairs was arrested for attempting to end her pregnancy. “Luckily”, she was only in her 2nd trimester and Iowa state law criminalizes such behavior only in the 3rd. Even things like not authorizing a c-section can get a pregnant person arrested and charged with endangerment.
Two things are clear: first, that these laws criminalize pregnancy for poor people, people with substance abuse problems or a history of substance abuse, and any person who may accidentally jeopardize their pregnancy through the normal course of life. And second, laws guaranteeing our right to medical privacy are invalid in the face of anti-choice legislation that holds a fetus as more important than its parent. When even doctors can’t be trusted, more pregnant people will go without adequate care during and after miscarriages to avoid the dangers of arrest and incarceration.
It begs the question, what is really important to anti-choice advocates? The life of the fetus or the life and rights of the pregnant person? The answer, at least to me, is obvious.
