Overview

• Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman and others have discussed using a state human remains disposal law to pursue criminal counts against women who miscarry and handle fetal tissue without reporting it.
• The 2022 Unborn Child Protection Act bans almost all abortions but explicitly exempts patients, leaving miscarriage-related acts subject to separate statutes.
• Truman urged women to call their doctor or law enforcement after a miscarriage to preempt investigations or possible felony charges for improper disposal of remains.
• States including Ohio, Georgia, Texas and South Carolina have previously prosecuted women for miscarriages or stillbirths under charges such as abuse of a corpse or concealing a death.
• Reproductive rights groups warn that the law’s broad language and lack of clear guidelines could deter women from seeking timely medical care for pregnancy complications.