Brittany Watts was 21 weeks pregnant when she experienced visceral symptoms of miscarriage and sought treatment at Mercy Health-St. Joseph’s Hospital in Ohio. Watts reportedly spent several days in the hospital and was told the pregnancy was not viable despite a detectable fetal heartbeat, which complicated legal treatment options even though her life was in danger. Ultimately, Watts was left to suffer through her miscarriage at home alone.

In severe pain and with no medical guidance, Watts passed fetal tissue into the toilet. This terrible experience turned into a public scandal when Watts was arrested for abuse of corpse under a section of Ohio law that penalizes treatment of a “human corpse a way that the person knows would outrage reasonable family sensibilities.”