Reproductive justice news continues to arise from the state of Ohio, this time in the criminal case of a Black, Ohio woman who miscarried in her home.

Despite expert testimony advocating the pregnancy was not viable, the case went viral this weekend when a judge decided that she will face a grand jury. This is another story contributing to the trend of pregnancy-related criminalization continuing across the country.

Brittany Watts of Warren, Ohio was charged last month with attempted abuse of a corpse after she miscarried at 22 weeks and flushed the remains down the toilet, causing a clog in the pipes. An autopsy report and testimony from a forensic pathologist say that the (fetus) died before leaving the birth canal, and that Watts had visited the hospital twice before and was turned away.

“This fetus was going to be non-viable. It was going to be non-viable because she had premature ruptured membranes — her water had broken early — and the fetus was too young to be delivered,” forensic pathologist Dr. George Sterbenz said in his testimony.

With 26% of pregnancies resulting in miscarriage, many of which happen at home, Watts’ story potentially forecasts what expectant mothers and birthing people will continue to face in the wake of shifting reproductive health laws.

“This 33-year-old girl, with no criminal record, is demonized for something that goes on every day,” defense attorney Traci Timko said during the hearing.

As the story went viral, people criticized the viability of criminalizing miscarriage.

“Do folks not know that women miscarry in toilets every single day? You better start building bigger jails if you’re sending us all to jail for flushing the toilet,” Jessica Piper, the executive director of Blue Missouri said on Twitter.

On X, formerly Twitter, doctors, lawyers, professors, and more expressed their frustration with the laws criminalizing Watts.

“As a doctor & woman who has 3 wonderful living children & multiple pregnancies that didn’t make it to term, I find this insane. Miscarriages in toilets, D&Cs with non-viable pregnancies- it’s all traumatic, scary & heartbreaking. No one should be tried for this! #Womenshealthcare,” wrote @DrKateAckerman.

Reproductive rights advocates have long said that the overturning of Roe would contribute to cases like this, but criminalization related to pregnancy loss is not a new phenomenon.

A 2022 investigation by the Marshall Project found that in the last 23 years, there were 20 felony cases in Alabama, 14 in South Carolina and 10 in Oklahoma related to miscarriage or stillbirth. Additionally The Rise of Pregnancy Criminalization 2023 report documented 1,400 cases of pregnancy-related criminalization from 2006 to 2022, showing that birth and pregnancy loss are more likely to result in criminalization than abortion.

Fetal personhood laws are a major contributing factor to why people face legal issues for pregnancy loss. These types of laws extend the legal rights of a living person to a fetus or embryo before the point of viability, according to Time.

“This ideology has been used to escalate attacks and ultimately gut abortion rights over the years and it’s been embedded in state laws and judicial decisions,” Lourdes Rivera, president of Pregnancy Justice, told Reckon in September.

So, how do you handle miscarriage?

Miscarriage is extremely common, especially during the first trimester. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists estimates that 26% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, and can be emotionally distressing for many who face it. After 20 weeks, pregnancy loss is considered stillbirth.

Most pregnancy loss occurs during the first trimester, in which there are three main options to remove the pregnancy tissue left in the uterus, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). You can allow the tissue to pass on its own, medication, or dilation and curettage, which is a surgical procedure.

According to Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust, miscarrying into a toilet and flushing is a common way to dispose of the remains, though Reckon could not locate data documenting exactly how often this occurs.

Asmist the maternal health crisis, families are seeking options outside of the traditional healthcare system to navigate birth.

Doulas provide emotional and physical support to a birthing person during and after pregnancy, according to WebMD. Full spectrum doulas specifically assist pregnant people through each stage or potential stage of pregnancy: from preconception to birth to postpartum and miscarriage, and some can even assist in abortion. Doulas are not medically trained, and certification requirements to practice vary by state.

CDC data shows that Black women are almost three times more likely to experience pregnancy-related death than white women. In Ohio, Black birthing people also face additional disparities, like a preterm birth rate that is 1.5 times higher than other babies, according to the March of Dimes.

“Most of my clients are first time moms, but they know about the Black maternal health crisis and the black infant and maternal mortality rates, so that’s what inspires them to get doulas,” said Te’Jah Green, full-spectrum doula and founder of Rainbow Perinatal Services, LLC in Columbus, Ohio.

Green said Watts’ story is shocking, even from her perspective as a birth worker.

“I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know what she could have done in that situation,”said Green. “You’re just essentially just re-traumatizing her by one, villainizing her, and then not only that, you literally arrested her for a natural thing, a natural occurrence.”

A tweet by lawyer Ben Cramp was quoted by users sharing stories of their experience miscarrying into a toilet, some sharing that they too flushed the remains.

A 2022 Glamour UK article touched on the guilt and trauma felt after flushing a miscarriage.

“Flushing after experiencing the loss of a pregnancy on the toilet is a natural reaction to a shocking event. There is nothing to feel shame or guilt about. Many women have been through this experience as, at the time, it feels like the only thing they could do,” wrote Pippa Vosper.

In the Watts’ case, she was turned away from the hospital twice. According to a 2022 NPR article, care for a miscarriage in an emergency room can be hard to come by, and this has been exacerbated in states in which doctors can face penalties under abortion restrictions.

“Emergency medicine physicians aren’t trained in managing miscarriage and don’t see it as something they should own,” Dr. Sarah Prager, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington and a co-author of the guidelines on miscarriage management for the ACOG, told the outlet.

According to the Kaiser Permanente, most early miscarriages – unless there are symptoms of heavy blood loss, fever or weakness – can be self-managed with over-the-counter-pain medication and menstrual pads to manage the vaginal bleeding that occurs for up to two weeks. ACOG recommends refraining from vaginal sex, using tampons or inserting anything into the vagina for at least a week to prevent infection and promote physical healing.

Green advises birthing people to be persistent in listening to their body and expressing their medical needs, including in traditional medical settings.

“I would say try to advocate for yourself as much as possible, but I know that’s hard for some people,” said Green. “That’s why I became a doula too.”