Brittany Watts, an Ohio woman, is suing a hospital and its staff after experiencing a miscarriage and being falsely charged with abuse of a corpse. Watts claims she was denied proper medical care at St. Joseph Warren Hospital, which is owned by Bon Secours Mercy Health, and was later wrongfully arrested by the Warren Police Department.
In September 2023, Watts, who was 21 weeks pregnant, began experiencing pain and bleeding. She went to St. Joseph Hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with placenta abruption and admitted her for observation. However, after about eight hours with no meaningful treatment, she left the hospital. The next morning, her condition worsened, and she returned to the hospital. Doctors informed her that her pregnancy was no longer viable and that she was at risk of serious complications such as hemorrhaging, sepsis, and death unless the fetus was removed.
Despite this, Watts says she was left untreated for another 10 hours before leaving the hospital again. The following day, she miscarried at home. During the miscarriage, the fetus became trapped in the toilet, and Watts, in distress, cleaned up the mess and flushed the toilet, which caused it to overflow. Watts claims that she never saw the fetus, which weighed less than a pound.
Upon returning to the hospital, a nurse allegedly contacted the police and falsely accused Watts of committing a crime. The lawsuit alleges that hospital staff and law enforcement worked together to fabricate evidence against her, ultimately leading to her arrest and charges of abuse of a corpse. Watts was facing a felony charge that could have led to a year in prison for simply having a miscarriage at home.
The charges were later dropped when a grand jury declined to indict her in January 2024, after an autopsy revealed no injuries to the fetus. The grand jury’s decision was a relief for Watts, but the emotional and legal toll of the arrest remained. The case drew widespread criticism from reproductive rights activists, who feared that such charges could deter women from seeking medical care after miscarriages.
In her lawsuit, Watts argues that the hospital failed to provide the standard of care required for a woman in her situation. According to the suit, hospitals are supposed to inform patients about available procedures, such as a dilation and evacuation (D&E), if they cannot perform them. St. Joseph, however, did not provide this information and failed to offer proper care. Instead, Watts was induced into labor, but after waiting for hours with no treatment, she left the hospital feeling confused, scared, and frustrated.
Watts also claims that the police falsely arrested and interrogated her while she was still recovering in the hospital, violating her due process rights. She argues that the hospital’s actions violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which mandates that anyone seeking emergency care must receive treatment.
In response to the lawsuit, Mercy Health, which owns the hospital, stated that it remains committed to serving patients with compassion and integrity but declined to discuss the ongoing legal proceedings due to patient privacy concerns.
