Source: Think Progress
On March 30th, 33-year-old Purvi Patel was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She is the first woman in the United States convicted of feticide. But there is far more to this case than that fact alone reveals.
Last July, Patel went to a South Bend, Indiana hospital after suffering heavy bleeding. She had miscarried, but initially denied her pregnancy because she was raised in a conservative Hindu family and the baby was the result of an affair with a coworker. Patel reportedly ordered abortion-inducing pills online from Hong Kong, miscarried days after consuming them then panicked and disposed the fetus in a dumpster.
Many facts — such as how far along she was in the pregnancy and whether or not the baby was born alive — were highly contested. But this woman was nonetheless charged with neglect of a dependent and feticide, the illegal induction of an abortion and a Class A felony.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 38 states currently have fetal homicide laws, 23 of which apply to the earliest stage of pregnancy. In Indiana, one can be charged with feticide for simply trying to induce abortion, regardless of whether the fetus survives or not. Thus, Patel was legally punished for not wanting to have a child.
This case illuminates a broader point, though: Namely that our society objectifies women in all ways — even in terms of their reproductive abilities. We still seem to uphold women’s primary value as human incubators rather than autonomous people by holding them responsible for anything that goes wrong with their pregnancy. These laws effectively strip women of their agency prioritize the health of the fetus over that of a woman.
There’s also a clear racial dynamic at play. The only two women who have been charged with feticide in the U.S. are Asian American women. Furthermore, a recent study conducted by the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law found that 59% of the 413 cases in which a “woman’s pregnancy was a necessary factor leading to attempted and actual deprivations of a woman’s physical liberty” brought forth between 1973 and 2005 involved minority women.
The same study also found that 51% of theses women were charged with not failing to obtain prenatal care. And yet, minority women overwhelmingly lack proper access to necessary sexual and reproductive healthcare in this country. Undocumented women fare even worse, as their fear of deportation prevents them from accessing basic health and reproductive care.
Ultimately, the exact details of Patel’s case may be unclear, but the central issue is not: We need to change the conversation about reproductive rights in this country. Regardless of one’s stance on the ethics of abortion or feticide, that any woman in this country could feel compelled to act in the way Patel did is proof we need to open up a dialog about safe and healthy sex and reproduction rather than demonize women’s sexuality and shame them for their choices.
We also must provide free and universal reproductive care to all women and let them make their own decisions about their bodies and their pregnancy. If everyone had adequate access to birth control, comprehensive information about safe and healthy sex, and safe abortions then the undeniably dangerous way in which Patel treated her own pregnancy would be avoided.
Our society must re-conceptualize how we view women — especially pregnant women and especially pregnant minority women. They are autonomous human beings, not controllable vessels for fetuses and we must trust them to make decisions that are right for them, no matter what.
