Grand jury declines to indict Ohio woman who suffered a miscarriage at home

An Ohio grand jury declined Thursday to indict a woman who miscarried a nonviable fetus at home on charges of abuse of a corpse. unfounded and could endanger other patients.

The woman, Brittany Watts, 34, of Warren, Ohio, was arrested in October after passing a fetus in her bathroom and attempting to flush the remains down the toilet. Prosecutors in Trumbull County had charged Ms. Watts under an extremely rare interpretation of a state law.

The grand jury returned what is known as a no bill, meaning it chose not to file charges. The case had been before a Trumbull County grand jury since November. Ms Watts had pleaded not guilty.

Had she been charged and convicted, Ms. Watts could have faced up to a year in prison.

Traci Timko, Ms. Watts’ attorney, said she was incredibly relieved and “grateful that justice was served.”

“I am glad that Brittany is now able to heal through all of this and I hope and believe that her story will be an impetus for change,” she said.

The Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office released the grand jury’s special report Thursday afternoon and said it would release a statement on the case later Thursday or Friday, but declined to comment further.

Ms. Timko said that when she called Ms. Watts, she was quiet at first and then started crying.

“It was just an emotional rollercoaster she was on,” Ms. Timko said.

A GoFundMe account has raised about $235,000 for Ms. Watts, a receptionist at a medical office, Ms. Timko said.

“She is known all over the country,” she says. “Three months ago, her circle consisted of her mother, her church and the people she worked with. It is quite a revolution.”

Ms. Watts was admitted to the hospital with vaginal bleeding on September 19 when she was just over 21 weeks pregnant, just before the 22 weeks that would have made the pregnancy a viable one under Ohio law. Doctors determined that her waters had ruptured prematurely and that the fetus was not viable. After several visits to a hospital with long wait times, Ms. Timko said, Ms. Watts passed the tissue at home.

The hospital notified Warren City police of the miscarriage and “the need to locate the fetus,” according to a coroner’s report. Police found the fetus hiding in her bathroom toilet, the report said. The police removed the entire toilet from her home and took it to the morgue to retrieve the fetus.

The autopsy report revealed that the fetus had died in utero – before delivery – due to complications resulting from premature rupture of the membranes.

Police charged Ms. Watts on October 5 with felony abuse of a corpse.

This is a development story.