Georgia Woman Arrested for How She Disposed of Miscarriage

3.25.25

Click to skip ahead: Criminalizing Care reports that a Georgia woman has been arrested over her miscarriage. In the States, more news from Georgia, along with stories from Texas, Kentucky, Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio, and more. Stats & Studies looks at new research on who gets advance provision abortion medication. Attacks on Democracy reports that Missouri’s attorney general is colluding with anti-abortion groups to override the will of voters. Prenatal Tests Under Fire flags a hint from Tennessee Republicans. In the Nation has some quick hits. Coming Soon gives a sneak peek of tomorrow’s newsletter.

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Criminalizing Care

It feels like we’re seeing more and more of these stories: Just days ago, I told you about a Pennsylvania teenager being investigated for ‘abuse of a corpse’ after self-managing an abortion and burying the fetus. Now, a 24-year-old woman in Georgia is behind bars after having a miscarriage.

Police arrested the young woman after she was found unconscious and bleeding near her apartment complex, charging her with “concealing the death of another person” and “abandonment of a dead body.” Why? Because after miscarrying, they say, she bagged up the fetal remains and put them in the trash.

What exactly did they expect her to do? Was she supposed to call the police after her miscarriage? A funeral home? At what point in pregnancy are women supposed to start reporting their pregnancy losses to law enforcement? It’s completely unhinged.

Naturally, this case follows the same pattern we’ve seen over and over again: A woman of color is criminalized for a pregnancy loss, charged under vague laws that seemingly have nothing to do with abortion, while local media frames her medical crisis as a criminal act.

Let’s be clear: The Tifton police themselves say this was a miscarriage. They’re not claiming it was an illegal abortion—and even if it were, Georgia law doesn’t allow the prosecution of people who have abortions. So why is this a police matter? Why did they send the fetus to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Lab for a fucking autopsy?

I’ll keep you updated as I learn more, but know that this is the very predictable outcome of anti-abortion policies that strip women of their humanity.

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To learn more about criminalization, check out If/When/How and Pregnancy Justice. If you’re self-managing an abortion and need medical advice, contact the Miscarriage & Abortion Hotline: 833-246-2632. For free legal help as a patient or health practitioner, call this free Repro Legal Helpline: 844-868-2812.

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In the States

Let’s stick with Georgia for a moment, and legislation that would result in a whole lot more miscarriage investigations. Right now, Republicans are advancing a bill that would punish abortion patients as murderers. And despite the GOP’s insistence that “equal protection’ bills” are just fringe extremism, House Bill 441 has already passed its second reading and is scheduled for a state House committee tomorrow.

The legislation is part of a broad and disturbing trend spanning the country: Since January, Republicans in 11 states have introduced ‘equal protection’ bills to prosecute abortion patients for murder, with penalties ranging from life in prison to the death penalty.

I warned in my 2025 predictions that we’d see this kind of legislation become more and more mainstream—and that’s exactly what’s happening. What else would you call the fact that only two national outlets have covered the rise of ‘equal protection’ bills?

Georgia’s HB 441 had nearly two dozen co-sponsors at last count. Are we really still pretending this isn’t representative of the Republican Party?

One last thing: While Georgia Right to Life is claiming that this bill wouldn’t spark investigations into miscarriages, that’s just not true. To start, the newsletter’s top story today makes clear that Georgia police are already investigating miscarriages!

We also know these bills are written specifically to allow law enforcement to investigate any kind of pregnancy loss. They’re crafted and pushed by the same extremist organization working on legislation across the country, and when Idaho Rep. Brandon Shippy introduced his ‘equal protection’ bill earlier this year, he explicitly told the Idaho Statesman it would authorize law enforcement to investigate miscarriages.

That’s always been the goal, and the radicalism is only spreading. I mean really, Texas Republicans even put ‘equal protection’ in their party platform.

Speaking of Texas, if you missed my piece on the so-called “exceptions” bill moving through the state legislature, now’s the time to read and share it—especially since it’s likely to be heard in a state Senate committee this week. SB 31 is a textbook example of Republican anti-abortion trickery: a bill that pretends to protect women and doctors, while actually broadening the state’s power to prosecute.

This is exactly why I put together that list of legislative red flags last week—we’re seeing a wave of bills designed to sound moderate while they quietly codify extremism. Another major example is what’s happening in Kentucky, where Republicans are playing the long game to eliminate life-saving abortions. You can read Abortion, Every Day’s full coverage on that bill below—or check out Kylie Cheung’s great piece at Jezebel, where she points out the legislation would “write emergency abortions out of existence.”

Kentucky Republicans Are Making it Easier to Ban Life-Saving Abortions

Related: The Kentucky Lantern has more on the well-deserved backlash to House Bill 90—and the outrage from Kentucky doctors who are calling out the bill’s language about “separating a pregnant woman from her unborn child” as dangerous, unscientific bullshit. (Okay, they didn’t use that word—but the point stands.)

Meanwhile, Florida Republicans are trying to codify fetal personhood. Again. GOP legislators are advancing the Civil Liability for the Wrongful Death of an Unborn Child Act (HB 1517), which would allow people to sue over the ‘wrongful death’ of their fetuses, embryos, and fertilized eggs.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because Florida Republicans tried to do the same exact thing last year. The timing didn’t work out very well for them, though: They introduced the legislation right around the same time that the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos were “extrauterine children.” The ensuing public outrage proved to be a little too much attention for the anti-abortion lawmakers.

This time around, Republicans seem to believe they have a better chance. They’re not taking any chances though. As I noted a few weeks ago, Florida legislators are claiming that the legislation “has nothing to do with abortion.” SURE.

That’s not the only shitty anti-abortion bill in Florida right now. Another one of those rancid ‘Baby Olivia’ bills is moving through the legislature. This is legislation that would mandate an anti-abortion propaganda video—produced by the extremist organization, Live Action—be shown in public school classrooms.

The ‘Baby Olivia’ legislation trend is part of a broad attack on educational standards around reproductive health. Basically, Republicans think that if they can get to kids early enough, they can indoctrinate young people out of being the most pro-choice demographic in the country.

These bills are everywhere. In just the last week, an Oklahoma bill requiring the video in classrooms advanced out of the state House, and a similar bill in Idaho is on its way to be signed by the governor.

Here’s a free idea for any legislators or pro-choice organizations: Someone needs to create an accurate fetal development video that schools can use instead of the ‘Baby Olivia’ nightmare fuel. After all, most of these laws don’t require Live Action’s video specifically. Instead, they name it as an example and tailor the bill’s requirements to match that video exactly.

For example, the bills in Oklahoma and Idaho require schools to show video “at least three minutes in duration” of a “high-quality, computer-generated rendering or animation showing the process of fetal development.” Seems to me that’s something easy enough to put together. Surely we should try to offer schools an alternative?

Yes, there’s a good chance Republican legislators would try to force the Live Action video into classrooms regardless—but at least we can make them say out loud that this was never about science or facts.

Over in Ohio, Republicans are trying to funnel millions of dollars from the state budget into anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. Lauren Blauvelt, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, writes at The Columbus Dispatch that this is yet another move by Gov. Mike DeWine to undermine Ohio’s newly-adopted abortion rights amendment:

“At a time when Ohio is facing an ongoing health crisis, including record maternal mortality rates, term-limited DeWine has chosen ideology over public health, directly contradicting the will of voters who overwhelmingly support reproductive rights.”

In better news…

Nevada Democrats have introduced bills to protect IVF, birth control, and abortion providers. Connecticut Democrats are pushing legislation to expand the state’s shield law. And New York Attorney General Letitia James has won a lawsuit against an anti-abortion group that attacks clinics.

In terrific news: Indiana cannot release patients’ abortion reports—at least for now. A judge granted a preliminary injunction today that blocks the state health department from making the terminated pregnancy reports (TPRs) into public records. (Yes, they really wanted to make them public records—just like birth and death certificates.)

The judge’s ruling came in response to a suit brought by two Indiana OBGYNs—Dr. Caitlin Bernard and Caroline Rouse—who argue releasing the TPRs violate patient privacy and endanger doctors. Which, of course, is true.

Judge James Joven found that the doctors were reasonably likely to succeed at trial, and that the TPRs contained sensitive patient information.

Stats & Studies

A new study on advance provision abortion medication found that the people who are getting the pills ‘just in case’ aren’t usually the ones most likely to face barriers to care. In other words, the patients who need advance provision the most aren’t the ones ordering it.

Published in the Journal of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the study compared patients who requested pills in advance to those seeking medication for a current pregnancy. The researchers found that advance provision users “do not represent the demographics of those who traditionally have limited access to abortion care.”

Lead author Anna Fiastro, of the University of Washington School of Medicine, says the findings can help highlight “what more needs to be done so that this tool is available to those who may need it most.”

The study also found that while demand for advance provision is steady—and significant—there are noticeable spikes after major political events, like court rulings or headlines about abortion restrictions.

Attacks on Democracy

Well, well, well. Documents obtained by American Oversight show that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been working hand-in-hand with anti-abortion groups to undermine the will of voters.

You know that Missouri voters passed a pro-choice ballot measure in November that protects abortion rights until ‘viability.’ You also probably remember that Bailey fought every step of the way to keep Amendment 3 off the ballot in the first place. (A few examples here and here.) Now that the amendment has been adopted, the Republican AG is trying to strip it of any real power.

American Oversight reports that Bailey worked on a strategy to weaken Amendment 3 with groups like Missouri Right to Life, Project Veritas, and the Heritage Foundation. They even obtained a 2023 memo from Students for Life advising Bailey how to target abortion pills by citing “consumer protection” laws. (The document suggests that he had met with the group in person, as well.)

Wouldn’t you know it: Just this month, Bailey sent threatening letters to Missouri Planned Parenthoods about abortion medication citing consumer protection laws.

Again, this is not surprising—but it never ceases to amaze me how brazen these assholes are willing to be. Remember when Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose straight up admitted that he let anti-abortion extremists write the ballot summary language for Issue 1? I sure do!

Prenatal Tests Under Fire

Back in 2023, I published an investigation into what I called a quiet campaign to force women to carry doomed pregnancies to term. One of the red flags I raised was Republicans’ effort to limit access to prenatal testing—because what better way to make someone carry a nonviable pregnancy than to make sure they never find out about it in the first place?

Well, that once-quiet campaign is getting a whole lot louder. Before this legislation was killed last week, Tennessee lawmakers introduced a bill that would have restricted IVF and—most notably—banned genetic testing of embryos. As you can imagine, folks were not happy. As one fertility patient put it:

“Do you understand what you are asking of us? Forcing me to transfer genetically abnormal embryos—knowing they will result in devastating miscarriages—is beyond inhumane. And the financial toll? Possibly insurmountable.”

This is how they go after prenatal testing—not with sweeping, headline-grabbing bans, but through slow, calculated erosion. Bit by bit. Just like they did with abortion, just like they’re doing now with birth control.

So as these fights heat up, keep your eyes not just on abortion bills—but on IVF legislation, too.

In the Nation

• Ms. magazine reports that the Trump administration’s funding cuts to UNFPA, will lead to 34,000 preventable pregnancy-related deaths;

• Scientists are working on a contraceptive implant that can be placed via injection;

• Vox reports on the Supreme Court’s abortion case that could destroy Medicaid;

• And I really like these “quick takes” from KFF—here’s one about what’s happening with EMTALA and the Trump administration’s decision to drop the emergency abortion case against Idaho.

Coming Soon

In tomorrow’s newsletter: All about the Wall Street Journal report that the Trump administration plans to freeze Planned Parenthood’s Title X funding—a move that would be a public health disaster. (Not to mention a PR one: Planned Parenthood is a hell of a lot more popular than Trump!)

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A quick aside: Did you see this piece in The Atlantic? Apparently Mark Zuckerberg pirated millions of books in order to train Meta’s AI. God forbid the fucking billionaire pay authors for their work. The Atlantic has a tool you can use to check what books Zuckerberg pirated, and what do you know—all of mine are on there. They even downloaded a Portuguese version of one of my books!

So consider this you reminder to support authors: If you haven’t purchased my most recent book, Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win—a New York Times bestseller!—consider doing that now.

If there are other abortion books you like that could use some love, please shout them out in comments.