PBS News Hour

a miscarriage and now faces criminal# charges; 34-year-old Brittany Watts was## 22 weeks pregnant, and her pregnancy had# been deemed nonviable just days earlier,## when she miscarried in the bathroom# of her home in September of 2023.

Two weeks later, she was arrested on# charges of felony abuse of a corpse## for how she handled the remains.

If found# guilty, she faces up to a year in prison.

Joining me now is Mary Ziegler, a law# professor at the University of California,## Davis.

Her most recent book is called# "Roe: The History of a National Obsession."

Mary, welcome back, and thanks for joining us.

Help us understand this charge abuse of a corpse.

What are prosecutors# accusing Bri MARY ZIEGLER, University of California,# Davis: Abuse of corpse charges are from## very old laws that almost never# apply in thi So, if you think about abuse of a corpse, you're# thinking of people mistr experimentation, or you're thinking of people,# after a homicide, dismembering bodies to hide## the crime.

This almost never would be a charge# you would see applied in a miscarriage case.

So, essentially, I think what prosecutors are# faulting Brittany Watts for is not grieving## in the way they thought was appropriate following# her miscarriage.

Essentially, they're faulting her## for the way she disposed of the fetal remains# and the way she behaved after she did that.

AMNA NAWAZ: We should note miscarriages this# late in a pregnancy are rare.

Most occur in## the first trimester, but up to 30 percent# of all pregnancies do end in a miscarriage.

In Ohio or anywhere else, are there laws# around this in terms of how you should## be handling that miscarriage# or reporting that miscarriage?

MARY ZIEGLER: No.

I me experience a miscarriage, the only information# you're likely to find is what you should do to## protect your own health, essentially,# when you should seek medical attention,## when you may be experiencing a complication versus# when you can handle whatever's ha There's no kind of how-to guide about# what you should do if you experience## a miscarriage at home.

So it's also, I think,# unusual for prosecutors to be holding Brittany## Watts to a standard that wasn't written down# anywhere when she made the choices she did.

AMNA NAWAZ: So critics have looked at# this case and said this represents a## criminalization of pregnancy we have# seen an increase in ov Do you agree with that?

Have# we been seeing that trend?

MARY ZIEGLER: We have.

group Pregnancy Justice has documented, of laws# criminalizing the actions of pregnant patients,## particularly usually actions that were# taken by low-income people, people of color,## particularly substance abuse, sometimes of illegal# drugs, sometimes of legal drugs like alcohol.

You almost never, or, to my knowledge, never see# a prosecution of someone like Brittany Watts.## Everyone has conceded that this pregnancy# was already nonviable when the actions she## took that have led to charges began.

So this# is, I think, both a continuation of a trend,## but also an acceleration of a trend.

This# is something we haven't seen much before.

AMNA NAWAZ: That group you mentioned is# an advocacy group, Pregnancy Justice.

In their last year's report, they found there# were more than including pregnancy loss, was used in a# criminal investigation or prosecution.## That was from 2006 to June of 2022, the# month that Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Tell me about what we have seen# since then.

Where do these kinds of## prosecutions fit into the larger effort# to further roll back abortion access MARY ZIEGLER: The U.S. anti-abortion# movement's goal from its -- really## since the 1960s onward has been not just# the undoing of a rig but the recognition of a fetus or an# unborn child as a rights-holding person.

And in pursuit of that goal, they have# sought to write this idea of a fetus## as a rights-holding person into as many# areas of law as possible.

The ultimate## goal here is essentially to make the law# of abortion, which doesn't treat a fetus## as a rights-holding person, or the law of# the Constitution, the interpretation of the## Constitution that doesn't treat a fetus as# a rights-holding person, an outlier, rig to make it weirder and weirder to say, well,# this fetus doesn't have constitutional rights,## but we treat it as a person for# the purposes of abusing a corpse.

We treat it as a person for the purposes of# fetal homicide law, or wrongful death law,## or intestacy law, to sort of put incremental# pressure on a conservative Supreme Court to## move toward the recognition of personhood.# So this is very much playing the long game.## This is not a movement that thinks it's# going to get the recognition of fetal## personhood through Congress or through# the Supreme Court in the near term.

But it's worth remembering, of course, that it# took 50 years to undo this, in some ways, for the anti-abortion movement# is the new Roe v. Wade.

It's th AMNA NAWAZ: While we have you, I would like to ask## you about the la The Supreme Court late last week allowed Idaho to# continue to enforce it The court is going to hear the case in their April# session.

But from what you have seen in other## states in terms of women traveling out of state# or having to file legal cases right to terminate pregnancies, what do you expect# to see?

What's the impact on the ground in Idaho?

MARY ZIEGLER: Well, what we're seeing, I# think, in Idaho is likely to be of the most## serious import for people experiencing# complications in wanted pregnancies,## people who may have been able to fit in# under the kind of understanding of a medical## emergency that the Biden administration# has championed under this federal law,## the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor# Act, but who may not under Idaho's law.

I think it's also likely to have an effect# on physicians, who are not going to want to## risk the kind of criminal consequences that# Idaho's law authorizes for making t decision.

It's not unlikely that we will see# the Supreme Court maybe uphold this law or at## least reject the Biden administration's# interpretation of federal law and permit## Idaho's interpretation to take effect come# June, when the court renders a decision.

AMNA NAWAZ: That is Mary Ziegler,## law professor Mary, thank you.

Always good to see you.

MARY ZIEGLER: Thanks for having me.