When Pregnancy Leads to Arrest: 9‑Minute Podcast You Need to Hear
Criminalizing pregnancy
"210 pregnant people faced criminal charges for pregnancy related conduct" - Pregnancy Justice
What happens when pregnancy is criminalized? And women can be arrested for literally anything that could affect their baby? Which state has the most such prosecutions? Which racial group is most prosecuted?
Learn about the fallout from MAGA Justices on the Supreme Court in this 29 page report "Pregnancy As a Crime: A Preliminary Report on the First Year After Dobbs" by Pregnancy Justice.
In a hurry? Listen to this 9 minute podcast we created with AI to explain the key points of the report.
Jail women by making pregnancy a crime
The overturning of Roe v. Wade has fostered an environment where the criminalization of a variety of pregnancy-related conduct has intensified. The report highlights that this surge stems from the emboldened stance of state legislatures, judges, anti-abortion activists, and prosecutors who are aggressively seeking to protect “fetal victims."
Exploiting Existing Laws: Prosecutors are using general criminal statutes, such as child abuse, neglect, endangerment, and homicide, to prosecute pregnant individuals for actions related to their pregnancy.
Fetal Personhood: This gives a fetus the rights of “person” even though it is not yet born. Prosecutors use this definition to equate charge women who have abortions with murder.
Targeting Vulnerable Populations: Low-income communities, particularly low-income white women, continue to face the brunt of these charges.
Lack of Proof of Harm: Prosecutions don’t require proof of actual harm to the fetus... simply exposing the fetus to “risk” is enough to warrant prosecution, even if the pregnancy results in a healthy child. This prosecutorial strategy aims to control and punish pregnant individuals rather than genuinely protecting fetuses.
Weaponizing Healthcare: Healthcare providers becoming unwitting participants in pregnancy criminalization. Pregnant individuals are often subjected to drug tests without informed consent, and the results are then shared with family policing agencies, who may then involve law enforcement. This practice effectively turns healthcare settings into surveillance grounds, deterring pregnant individuals, particularly those struggling with substance use, from seeking essential care.
Incarceration of Black Mothers
One of the most insidious forms of state violence against pregnant Black women is incarceration. In 2010, Black women were incarcerated at almost three times the rate of white women. One in 25 women in state prisons and one in 33 in federal prisons are pregnant at the time of incarceration. A third of women are incarcerated for drug offenses. Some women are even incarcerated for drug use while pregnant, as documented by The Sentencing Project, with the majority of women incarcerated for this offense being women of color, according to National Advocates for Pregnant Women. - Truthout
TakeAway: Stop the MAGA extremist push to criminalize pregnancies. Vote for Kamala Harris and Democrats to protect your freedom to control your own body.
Deepak
DemLabs
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