Miscarriages Cannot Lead To Criminal Charges, W.Va. Prosecuting Attorneys Say

West Virginia women cannot face “criminal liability” for experiencing miscarriages, a statewide prosecuting attorneys association said Monday. Neither are they required to report miscarriages to law enforcement, the association said.

That clarification comes after Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman told members of the media last week that women who experience miscarriages in the state could, in some circumstances, face criminal charges under the state’s near-total abortion ban.

Truman said he would not personally prosecute such cases, but warned that women in other states have faced legal issues surrounding their experiences with miscarriages.

The West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Association (WVPAA), which represents and supports prosecuting attorneys across the Mountain State, disputed these claims in a press release Monday.

“This is not a subject matter that has been widely discussed among West Virginia prosecutors, nor does it need to be,” the statement read. “The WVPAA wants to make abundantly clear that any assertion that individuals who experience the unfortunate event of a miscarriage should be notifying law enforcement or face potential criminal prosecution is incorrect and not supported by West Virginia law.”

States have had authority over their own abortion laws since the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, eliminating federal protections for abortion rights.

Truman told CNN that shifting policies could give prosecutors more discretion to interpret abortion laws according to their own agendas.

He suggested that those who experience a miscarriage should reach out to law enforcement, but legal and reproductive health professionals warned that could trigger unwanted legal scrutiny.

“What’s changed is, Roe isn’t there anymore, and so that may embolden prosecutors in some cases,” he told CNN. “I’m just trying to say, ‘Be careful.’”

Since 2022, some women across the country have faced criminal charges surrounding miscarriages. Notably, Ohio resident Brittany Watts was charged with felony abuse of a corpse in 2023 after she called law enforcement for help after experiencing a miscarriage. The charges were eventually dropped.

The WVPAA said in its statement that it “does not agree with or support the idea” that experiencing a miscarriage should result in criminal charges.

Meanwhile, the number of abortions performed annually has increased since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. A growing number of residents from states with abortion bans like West Virginia have traveled out of state to receive the procedure, according to figures from 2023.