Civil rights groups want Warren woman facing indictment for 'abuse of a corpse' cleared of charges
Multiple civil rights groups are demanding action in support of a Warren women who was charged after suffering a miscarriage at her home.
33-year-old Brittany Watts was 21 weeks pregnant when she began experiencing blood clots and went to the hospital and was told the pregnancy was no longer viable.
According to the Associated Press, Watts was told that she would need to have labor induced or her own health could be in danger.
After several hours waiting for care, Watts left the hospital and ultimately miscarried into a toilet at her home in Warren, then she flushed and plunged it. Now, the Trumbull County Grand Jury is considering whether or not to indict her for abuse of a corpse.
In a press release sent to the Trumbull County Prosecutors Office and Warren Mayor Doug Franklin, the Trumbull and Ashtabula NAACP, TCIMA, and the Warren-Youngstown Urban League are calling for the immediate dismissal of all charges pending the Grand Jury, and say the charges against her are a violation of her civil rights.
The release also says Watts' case is a prime example of the inequalities that lie within the healthcare and judicial systems.
The release outlines areas of concern regarding Watts' civil rights, including a possible pre-existing health condition, denial of adequate care, complications that could result from lack of immediate care and outcome from the trauma, violation of HIPAA rights, and charges for abuse of a corpse when the fetus was non-viable.
The groups are calling for the prosecutor's office to immediately withdraw or dismiss all charges in Watts' case, but a grand jury has to make the decision first.
Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins previously said "The case has been determined by a judge that there's sufficient evidence to present to a grand jury and the grand jury will decide in it's discretion if charges will go forward."
A grand jury is still considering Watts' case.