Hospital told woman she would miscarry, then she was arrested after she did, lawsuit says
An Ohio woman is suing after she says she was criminalized for having a miscarriage at her home, despite seeking treatment.
On Sept. 19, 2023, the woman, who was 21 weeks pregnant, began experiencing pain and bleeding, according to a civil lawsuit filed Jan. 10.
The woman went to St. Joseph Warren Hospital and was told she had a condition called placental abruption, which put her pregnancy in danger, the lawsuit said. Placental abruption happens when the placenta separates from the uterus’ inner wall, according to the Mayo Clinic.
However, after eight hours at the hospital, she “received no meaningful treatment or guidance” and went home “devastated and scared,” the civil complaint said. The next morning, she returned to the hospital and was told her water broke prematurely, her cervix was dilated and she had an infection, the lawsuit said.
“Her pregnancy was doomed, her doctor told her; and until the fetus was removed, (she) was at risk of hemorrhaging, sepsis, and death,” the lawsuit said.
The doctors informed her that the fetus was nonviable and would die, either before or shortly after delivery, the lawsuit said. The woman remained in the hospital for 10 hours “effectively untreated” before returning home, according to the court document.
“Despite knowing that (the woman) would miscarry, (no hospital staff) told her how to manage her impending miscarriage at home. In particular, (she) was never told what her fetal remains would look like or how to dispose of them,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit was filed against Mercy Health/St. Joseph Warren Hospital.
“We remain steadfast in our mission and our commitment to the patients and communities we serve with compassion and integrity. Due to patient privacy, Mercy Health will not discuss these legal proceedings,” Mercy Health told McClatchy News in an email.
On the morning of Sept. 22, 2023, the woman woke up in a “medical crisis” and made her way to the bathroom “doubled over in pain,” the complaint said.
When the woman looked in the toilet, she said she saw it was full of blood, tissue and blood clots. She said she did not see a fetus or anything moving, the lawsuit said. She collapsed on the bathroom floor where she lay for nearly an hour bleeding, according to the suit.
“She was terrified and disoriented and thought she might die. She was distraught and in shock. Her toilet was full of blood, her bathroom floor was covered in blood, she continued to lose blood, and she had just miscarried a baby she had wanted,” the lawsuit said.
She eventually flushed the toilet, which then began to overflow, the lawsuit said. She said she tried to stop it by scooping the contents up with a bucket.
“Unbeknownst to (the woman), the fetus, which was under one pound and had died in utero, was intact and had become lodged in the toilet’s P-trap,” the complaint said.
As she was losing a lot of blood, she returned to the hospital. However, she was soon accused of committing a crime, the lawsuit said.
Hospital staff reported to the risk management department that the woman “had given birth at home to a viable, live baby, and had left the live baby in a bucket,” the lawsuit said.
Police were then called and told that the woman had “given birth at home, did not want the baby and so did not look to see if it were alive, and had come to the hospital without the baby,” according to the lawsuit.
Investigators questioned the woman in her hospital room as she awaited surgery “scared and nervous,” the lawsuit said. Eventually, she was charged with abuse of a corpse, and on Oct. 5, 2023, she was arrested at her home.
The lawsuit also lists the city of Warren and several individuals from the Warren Police Department as defendants.
McClatchy News reached out to the city of Warren for comment Jan. 15 but did not immediately hear back.
An autopsy showed the fetus died before she gave birth, according to the lawsuit.
On Jan. 11, 2024, a grand jury declined to indict the woman due to no probable cause.
The complaint said she suffered from “deprivation of liberty, reputational harm, public humiliation, distress, pain, and suffering” and is asking for an undetermined amount in damages.
Warren is about a 60-mile drive southeast of Cleveland.
This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Hospital told woman she would miscarry, then she was arrested after she did, lawsuit says."
