Latest news with #pregnancyLoss
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Women could be charged over miscarriages, a West Virginia prosecutor says
'911. What's your emergency?' 'Hello, I would like to report the fact that I am having a very heavy period. Can you send a police officer over right away to collect my menstrual matter and check whether I've broken any laws?' The above is not a transcript of an actual conversation in West Virginia but, the way things are headed, it could be a glimpse of what's to come. The Raleigh county prosecuting attorney Tom Truman recently warned that women who have a pregnancy loss in West Virginia could face criminal charges. To protect themselves, Truman said, women should call local law enforcement and report a miscarriage – which is the loss of a pregnancy before the 20th week. 'Call your doctor. Call law enforcement, or 911, and just say: 'I miscarried. I want you to know,'' Truman told the outlet WVNS 59News. Truman said he was personally opposed to prosecuting women who miscarry. But he warned that other prosecutors in West Virginia had indicated that they would be willing to file criminal charges against women who had lost a pregnancy via state laws related to the disposal of human remains. 'I thought these guys were just chewing on a Dreamsicle,' Truman lamented. But, he added, West Virginia's laws include definitions that are 'pretty broad-ranging' and give law enforcement a lot of discretion to go after women who have had a pregnancy loss. To be very clear about the law: while abortion is all but banned in West Virginia, the pregnant person themselves can't be prosecuted for having an abortion. Miscarriages also aren't explicitly criminalized. However, law enforcement can get creative and use legislation that governs the handling of fetal remains to punish women. And this sort of 'creativity' isn't just confined to West Virginia: following the 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade, a lot of women who experience pregnancy loss in the US have been plunged into legal limbo. While it would appear that Truman was trying to be helpful, I should note that calling the police isn't necessarily the best idea in a scenario where you have experienced, or suspect you've experienced, a miscarriage. 'It's always a mistake to invite law enforcement into your reproductive life,' Kim Mutcherson, a professor at Rutgers Law School, told CNN. 'I understand the idea that caution is better than being caught up in something that you weren't anticipating, but it is difficult for me to imagine any circumstance in which I would think it was safe for someone who miscarried to call the police.' If you are going to call the police, you might want to quiz them on their understanding of the female reproductive system before going into any details. After all, how many of the men salivating over the prospect of locking up women for miscarriages do you think actually know what a miscarriage is? How many of them do you think understand that an estimated 23m miscarriages occur every year globally and about 10% to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriages? Again, that's known pregnancies: a lot of miscarriages happen before someone even realizes they're pregnant. We don't have the full picture of why pregnancy losses occur, but they are quite often due to chromosomal abnormalities. They are often, in other words, completely out of the woman's control. And a very early miscarriage (also known as a chemical pregnancy) can be hard to distinguish from a period. Sometimes the only way to tell the difference is via medical interventions like a blood test or an ultrasound. All that said, this does strike me as a situation where a little malicious compliance wouldn't go amiss. I'm not saying women in West Virginia should call up the prosecutor's office whenever they're menstruating and ask to speak to someone about the size and consistency of their blood clots or inquire whether they'd like to send a police officer to examine the toilet before they flush. Nor am I saying that women in West Virginia should drop off their used sanitary items at their local police station so they can be thoroughly examined by the powers that be. But I'm not not saying that either! The Biden-era guidance had made it clear that hospitals in states with abortion bans cannot turn away pregnant patients who are in the midst of medical emergencies. The Trump administration has also launched an investigation into this law, which it terms 'anti-Catholic'. The 17-year-old social media influencer Sana Yousaf, whom police say was shot by a man who broke into her home, is apparently already getting blamed for her own murder. The digital rights advocacy group Bolo Bhi told the BBC that some male internet users have been asking why Yousaf was putting up online content. Ladies, if you don't want to be murdered, just remember that you shouldn't express any opinions whatsoever or ever leave the house. And you certainly shouldn't hurt a man's fragile feelings. 'Strong jawlines and prominent chins are de rigueur in Washington,' one dermatologist told Politico. In recent years, the portion of her male clients who come in seeking better-defined jaws has more than doubled. Politico has a fascinating deep dive into jawlines, power and masculinity. The Barstool Sports founder called for a missile strike on Thunberg, who recently joined other activists sailing to Gaza on an aid ship with the aim of breaking Israel's blockade. Portnoy said: 'I'll jump on Greta van Thorsten or whatever that girl's – she's sailing there. Like whoever that fuck – and I hope they hit a fucking, like, a missile on her boat. Knock that boat down.' Portnoy's comments come after the senator Lindsey Graham tweeted: 'Hope Greta and her friends can swim!' Neither Portnoy nor Graham will face any consequences for their comments, of course. Sign up to The Week in Patriarchy Get Arwa Mahdawi's weekly recap of the most important stories on feminism and sexism and those fighting for equality after newsletter promotion Please pause for a moment and take in the fact that saying you care about kids in Gaza can now be career-ending. I'll drink to that! The BBC reports that 'in 2023, Nigeria accounted for well over a quarter – 29% – of all maternal deaths worldwide'. 'You can order any kind, any size,' the actor explained. Noooo, Steve, we can't do that, the birth rate will plummet! It's been a wild week for runaway animals. In Tennessee, a pet zebra went on the lam, causing chaos on Interstate 24. Meanwhile, in the UK, a bull ran loose around the streets of Birmingham. 'This magnificent animal seemed to be enjoying an unexpected city break,' a Birmingham councillor said in a statement, noting the bull had been moved to safety. No word yet on which Birmingham sights the bull took in, or whether it popped into any china shops. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
Globe and Mail
21-05-2025
- Health
- Globe and Mail
Lethal mutations in pregnancy loss
REYKJAVIK, Iceland , May 21, 2025 /CNW/ -- In a study published in Nature today "Sequence diversity lost in early pregnancy," scientists from deCODE genetics, a subsidiary of Amgen, estimate that around one in 136 pregnancies are lost due to new mutations in the fetus. In other words, millions of pregnancies worldwide are lost because of mutations every year. The human genome varies between individuals, but there are some locations in the genome where there seems to be little or no sequence variation between individuals. This raises the question whether the sequences at these locations are essential for human development? It is known that mutations in essential genomic sequences are major contributors to neurodevelopmental disorders, the question remains, do they also contribute to pregnancy loss? As part of a Nordic collaboration, scientists from deCODE genetics sought to answer these questions by sequencing 467 samples from pregnancy losses from a prospective study initiated by Henriette Svarre Nielsen and Eva R. Hoffmann. Interestingly, by comparing the genomes of the fetuses from pregnancy losses to their parents the scientists found that the fetuses harbored a similar number of new mutations as adults. "Despite the similar numbers, we discovered that the main difference between the lost fetuses and adults was that the mutations in the fetuses occurred in essential genomic sequences," says Hákon Jónsson scientist at deCODE genetics, and one of the authors on the paper. Moreover, they managed to pinpoint when, in the development of the fetus, some of the mutations occurred. In addition to mapping new mutations in the lost fetuses, they also showed that some couples are at a higher risk of pregnancy loss due to genetic compatibility issues. You inherit one copy of a gene from each parent, and most of the time, you are fine with one defective copy, but problems can arise if you inherit a defective copy from both parents. "We have shown previously that for certain genes, you never observe two defective copies in adult genomes, but we found two defective copies in some of the pregnancy losses. Importantly, these involve a high risk for recurrence of pregnancy loss for the couple but can be selected against in IVF treatments," says Guðný A. Árnadóttir scientist at deCODE genetics, and one of the authors on the paper. Along with recombination, the continuous generation of mutations enables us to evolve as a species. However, this continuous influx of new mutations comes at the expense of rare diseases. This study demonstrates the contribution of mutations to pregnancy loss and sheds new light on conserved sequences in the human genome. Based in Reykjavik, Iceland , deCODE genetics is a global leader in analyzing and understanding the human genome. Using its unique expertise and population resources, deCODE has discovered genetic risk factors for dozens of common diseases. The purpose of understanding the genetics of disease is to use that information to create new means of diagnosing, treating and preventing disease. deCODE genetics is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amgen.
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
I was an anti-abortion advocate, but after being forced to carry my dead baby for months, it's made me rethink EVERYTHING
Elisabeth Weber grew up an ultra-conservative Christian and used to protest outside abortion clinics. The now 31-year-old mother from South Carolina believed at the time that she was doing the right thing. But now, Weber has found herself in the crosshairs of the very abortion laws she once supported, unable to terminate her pregnancy, even after her baby had died. She was overjoyed to be pregnant again, naming the child Enzo despite not knowing the gender because, in her heart, she felt certain it was a boy. But at her nine-week ultrasound, doctors couldn't find a heartbeat. They told her the fetus measured just over six weeks, about the size of a pea. Follow-up tests confirmed that the baby had died. Her doctors recommended a termination to avoid infection or a potentially life-threatening hemorrhage. But because of South Carolina's near-total abortion ban after six weeks — one of the strictest in the country — she was forced to carry the non-viable pregnancy for weeks. In a tearful video posted online, Weber said: 'I grew up very Conservative Christian. We stood outside of abortion clinics. Like, that was my growing-up years. 'But what you guys need to understand with these laws is it's not just people who are going having elective abortions that are being affected... because my baby is dead, my baby doesn't have a heartbeat, my baby is gone, but I am not allowed to do anything about it.' Sobbing, she added: 'I just sit here and wait for another week and suffer and have a chance at hemorrhaging and have a chance at infection all because of these stupid laws.' South Carolina imposed a six-week fetal heartbeat law in May 2023, which forbids all abortions after week six, around the time a fetal heartbeat is first detected. The few exceptions include when the pregnant mother is experiencing a medical emergency or fetal anomaly, and in cases of rape or incest reported to law enforcement during the first trimester. In cases where a heartbeat is not detected at six weeks, patients are still asked to wait at least another two weeks to prove a pregnancy is non-viable and that due care has been taken, according to lawyers in the state. After doctors first concluded Weber's baby was dead, she was sent home to try to miscarry the fetus naturally. But her morning sickness continued unabated and she did not miscarry, leading her to return to doctors to ask for a termination. They refused, saying they could not end the pregnancy unless she was hemorrhaging or suffering from sepsis, a life-threatening blood infection. Weber then went to another hospital, where tests showed her white blood cell count was very high, suggesting an infection, but that staff at this hospital also concluded they couldn't end the pregnancy. What followed was a grueling three-week wait before doctors finally decided they would be able to end the pregnancy. She had a dilation and curettage, where the cervix is dilated using medication and a surgical instrument is inserted that gently removes the tissue lining the uterus to end the pregnancy. She is heartbroken by the whole process, saying it led her to take weeks off work and delayed her getting the chance to mourn her dead baby. She has set up a GoFundMe to help cover expenses, which has so far raised $5,211 out of the $6,500 goal. Weber has three other children aged six, five and 18 months. She also had a son who died in 2018 from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). She is no longer an ultra-conservative and said she has left her religion and did not vote for President Donald Trump. She was a member of the International House of Prayer, an ultra-Christian group that often takes a pro-life view on abortion. She revealed her issues in a post on TikTok, that has now been viewed more than 213,000 times.
