US EditionMore Miscarriages Criminally Investigated Three Years Into Post-Dobbs Abortion Bans
TRUMBULL COUNTY, OHIO, JUN 24 – Since Dobbs, 16 states have enacted abortion bans leading to 104 pregnancy-related prosecutions in 2023, increasing legal risks for people experiencing pregnancy loss, advocates say.
- In the three years since the June 2022 Dobbs ruling overturned Roe v. Wade, pregnancy-related criminal prosecutions, including for miscarriages, have surged across U.S. states with abortion bans.
- This increase follows tighter abortion restrictions leading to suspicion of pregnancy losses and legal action under statutes like abuse of a corpse, often targeting marginalized groups and fueled by extremist anti-abortion factions.
- Cases like that of Brittany Watts, a Black woman charged after a miscarriage in Ohio despite an abortion ban being blocked there, illustrate medical care delays and legal scrutiny faced by pregnant people in restrictive states.
- Pregnancy Justice documented 210 prosecutions in the first post-Dobbs year, with Alabama prosecuting nearly half, while legal defense funds have paid over $2.7 million in bail for about 30 clients facing increasingly harsh charges.
- The trend implies growing risks for pregnant people and healthcare providers, prompting legislative efforts to prevent criminalization of pregnancy outcomes, though most such bills face committee challenges amid ongoing cultural and political contention.
29 Articles
29 Articles
More miscarriages criminally investigated three years into post-Dobbs abortion bans • Nevada Current
About 10% to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says it is difficult to determine the cause of a miscarriage or stillbirth. (Photo by Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty Images)Editor’s note: This report examines abortion access three years after the U.S. Supreme Court decision struck down the federal right to abortion. The day before Brittany Watts miscarried at home in Warren, Ohio, medica…
More miscarriages criminally investigated three years into post-Dobbs abortion bans • Florida Phoenix
About 10% to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says it is difficult to determine the cause of a miscarriage or stillbirth. (Photo by Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty Images)Editor’s note: This report examines abortion access three years after the U.S. Supreme Court decision struck down the federal right to abortion. The day before Brittany Watts miscarried at home in Warren, Ohio, medica…
3 Years in, horrors wrought by anti-abortion ‘Dobbs’ ruling are apparent to all
This story originally appeared in Truthout on June 24, 2025. It is shared here with permission under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license. It’s been three years since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, an odious Supreme Court ruling that has unleashed a veritable crisis of rights, health, and safety for people who can become pregnant. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and sent abortion’s legality back to t…
'Traumatized': Women prosecuted for miscarriages at record levels
The day before Brittany Watts miscarried at home in Warren, Ohio, medical staff at Mercy Health-St. Joseph Warren Hospital told Watts that her nearly 21-week-old fetus had no chance of survival. And without treatment, neither would she.On that, Watts’ attorneys and those representing the hospital sh...
Louisiana Illuminator
More miscarriages criminally investigated three years into post-Dobbs abortion bans
Three years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision ended federal abortion rights, women around the country have faced criminal charges after their pregnancies ended in miscarriage or stillbirth, ranging from homicide to child abuse to abuse of corpse. (Photo by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)Editor’s note: This report examines abortion access three years after the U.S. Supreme Court decision struck down the federal right to abortion. The …
Arizona Mirror
Herald/Review MediaWomen prosecuted for miscarriages at record levels since Roe overturned
Three years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision ended federal abortion rights, women around the country have faced criminal charges after their pregnancies ended in miscarriage or stillbirth, ranging from homicide to child abuse to abuse of corpse. (Photo by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)Editor’s note: This report examines abortion access three years after the U.S. Supreme Court decision struck down the federal right to abortion. The …
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