Nationally, federal data shows that about 20% of pregnancies end in a loss, but only a small number are investigated as crimes. In several states, a positive drug test after a pregnancy loss can result in criminal charges for the mother, and even prison time.
Prosecutions related to pregnancy appear to have increased since the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, according to Pregnancy Justice, a nonprofit that advocates for the legal rights of pregnant people. In the first year after the Dobbs decision — from June 2022 to June 2023 — there were at least 210 pregnancy-related prosecutions, researchers for the group found.
Here are some states where miscarriages and stillbirths have been investigated by the criminal legal system in recent years:
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Georgia
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Carolina
… No? Some crimes do, but definitely not all. Probably not even most.
Nope, the vast majority of crimes require intent and criminal statutes that didn’t make that a necessary element of the crime were frequently struck down as unconstitutional before our judicial system went to hell
That being said, what “intent” means exactly to a judge gets really complicated and can lead to unexpected results (e.g. if you intended to just stand around as a non violent lookout while your friends robbed a store with an unloaded handgun that probably could be intent enough for you to be convicted of murder when one of your friends gets shot and killed by the store attendant)