Centuries ago, the state wounded women’s bodies in public to enforce obedience. Today, it punishes them through arrests, indictments, and mugshots plastered all over the news that trail people for life.
The case is strikingly similar to a 2015 arrest where prosecutors later dropped the charges. “The law hasn't changed. It is still not a crime to take misoprostol,” a reproductive justice lawyer told Autonomy News.
Both women were criminalized after they sought medical care, one for a miscarriage and one for self-managed abortion.
A recent arrest in Kentucky underscores everything news outlets get wrong when covering criminal charges after abortion and miscarriage.
