A grand jury in Trumbull County on Jan. 11, 2024, declined to indict 34-year-old Brittany Watts on an abuse of a corpse charge after she allegedly flushed a fetus down a toilet following a miscarriage in September. (WKBN/YouTube)
A grand jury in Ohio has declined to indict a woman on an abuse of a corpse charge after she allegedly flushed a fetus down a toilet following a miscarriage in a case that drew outrage from abortion rights activists.
Court records show the grand jury in Trumbull County returned a “no bill” on the charge.
Brittany Watts, 34, had carried the fetus about 21 weeks, but it passed through the birth canal and into the toilet in September with no signs of life, The Associated Press reported, citing court documents. She then flushed the fetus down the toilet and left the house for a hair appointment. Friends urged her to go to the hospital, and a nurse contacted police to say a previously pregnant woman left the fetus “in her backyard bucket,” the AP reported.
Watts’ doctors had reportedly told her that the fetus was nonviable and recommended inducement, saying she faced the risk if she tried to continue the pregnancy to term. She went to the hospital on several occasions but could not receive treatment, which led to the eventual miscarriage. An autopsy found no injury to the fetus, CBS affiliate WKBN reported.
Police began investigating, and prosecutors charged her with fifth-degree abuse of a corpse in October. The charge drew swift outrage from reproductive rights activists who worried it could deter women who suffer miscarriages from seeking medical treatment. It came about a year after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe V. Wade, which gave women the right to an abortion.
During a preliminary hearing in December, Assistant Prosecutor Lewis Guarnieri told a judge the issue wasn’t about how the baby died but rather the fact that it was flushed down the toilet and “she went on” with her day, according to the AP. The judge bound the case over for trial, which led to the grand jury hearing.
Watts’ attorney told the AP that Ohio law lacked a clear definition of what constituted a human corpse. The attorney, Traci Timko, told WKBN she was “grateful” following the grand jury decision.
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