South Carolina Is Investigating a 13-Week Miscarriage
2.16.26
As pregnancy-related arrests increase across the country, South Carolina authorities announced this weekend that they recovered “human fetal remains” from a water treatment facility.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office immediately transported the remains to be examined by a coroner, and local anti-abortion groups are already raising hell—pressuring the legislature to pass bills related to ‘abortion in the water’ and abortion pills.
Here’s where things get even weirder.
Sumter County Coroner Robbie Baker says the fetus’ gestation was between 13 and 15 weeks—yet classified it as a “stillborn death.” As a reminder, a stillbirth typically refers to a pregnancy loss after 20 weeks. According to the coroner’s report, the fetus was “premature,” there was no trauma, and the fetus never took a breath. (That's because a fetus or embryo that early on in pregnancy has no ability to breathe.)
Baker told local news station WIS10:
“It was a small fetus. Probably not more than 6 inches long. It was somewhat developed. That’s sad to think that you’re looking at a human life that’s no more than about 6 inches long in a sewer treatment plant. That’s sad. It breaks your heart.”
The coroner further claims the fetus was male, that its race couldn’t be determined, and that they couldn’t yet identify and locate the mother—though law enforcement is going to try.
Our immediate questions: Why are pregnancy remains being investigated by law enforcement at all? How can 14-week fetal remains be ruled a “stillborn death”? And why are state authorities trying to determine the race of these pregnancy remains? This is particularly concerning given that women of color are overrepresented among criminal cases involving pregnancy.
Pregnancy Justice’s Karen Thompson noted that South Carolina’s laws include a ‘viability’ requirement, so criminal charges are altogether inapplicable to the situation. “So what is the point of this investigation, beyond terrorizing women through control and surveillance of their bodies?,” she says.
Laura Huss, a senior researcher at If/When/How, tells Abortion, Every Day that these kinds of investigations have become “all too routine.”
“Pregnancy losses aren’t crimes… No one should have to live with the fear that their miscarriage or stillbirth could result in cops showing up at their door, which is what investigations and media stories like this create.”
Attorney Elizabeth Ling, also with If/When/How, says that the group is “defending more people than ever before.” Since Dobbs, there have been over 400 pregnancy-related arrests—that we know about.
“Every investigation makes someone scared to turn to their community for help to access abortion—or even just to share their story,” Ling says.
Investigators say they’ve collected tissue samples and sent them to South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) “in hopes of developing a DNA profile.” (As we’ve been tracking at AED, law enforcement agencies across the U.S. are using at-home DNA tests to identify and criminalize people for pregnancy loss.)
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is also actively soliciting tips from community members—in other words, seeking snitches to potentially identify someone who may have self-managed an abortion, or who is potentially reeling from the medical trauma of pregnancy loss.
Either way, this is no place for police involvement.
The other issue we’re worried about? This story comes at the same time that Republicans and top anti-abortion groups are trying to test the water for abortion pills—falsely claiming that medication and pregnancy remains are polluting the water supply.
In fact, AED warned just last week that South Carolina Republicans were quietly pushing legislation (HB 5095) to mandate testing the water supply for abortion pills. That’s why it’s no surprise that local anti-abortion groups are already pouncing: groups like Pro-Life Greenville are demanding that legislators revive a similar bill (HB 5067), which would require the state’s Department of Environmental Services to test for abortion pills.
We’ll continue to update you as we learn more about this case—and all of the other pregnancy-criminalization stories that have erupted over the last week. In the meantime, remember not to take law enforcement’s word as fact, and to read mainstream outlets—which often parrot police talking points—critically.
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Maybe we should reach out to the SC legislative body to also test the water for ED pills.
It’s entirely possible this woman didn’t even know she was pregnant…