Since the repeal of Roe v. Wade, strict state anti-abortion laws have led to the prosecution of hundreds of women for pregnancy-related crimes

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In the year after the U.S. Supreme Court ended the nationwide right to abortion in its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, at least 210 women across the country were charged with crimes related to their pregnancies, according to [a] report released by Pregnancy Justice, an advocacy organization.

Wendy Bach, a professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law and one of the lead researchers on the project, said one of the cases was when a woman delivered a stillborn baby at her home about six or seven months into pregnancy. Bach said that when the woman went to make funeral arrangements, the funeral home alerted authorities and the woman was charged with homicide.

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Most of the cases since Roe’s end include charges of child abuse, neglect or endangerment in which the fetus was listed as the victim. Most involved allegations of substance use during pregnancy, including 133 where it was the only allegation. The group said most of the charges do not require proof that the baby or fetus was actually harmed.

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