Prosecutors are now targeting pregnant mothers for felony charges simply because of pregnancy outcomes.
Story Snapshot
- Hundreds of women have faced felony prosecution for pregnancy outcomes since the Dobbs decision.
- “Fetal personhood” laws empower aggressive legal action against pregnant women, including for miscarriages.
- Prosecutions have created fear, eroding trust in healthcare and threatening family stability.
- Advocacy groups and medical professionals warn of government overreach and constitutional concerns.
Escalating Felony Charges Against Pregnant Mothers
Since the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, a surge of felony charges against pregnant women has emerged in states with strict fetal personhood laws. One striking case involves a woman expecting her fifteenth child, who became the subject of felony prosecution over her pregnancy outcome. These cases don’t just target abortion but extend to miscarriages and other natural pregnancy complications. The aggressive legal tactics have turned pregnancy into a potential criminal liability, raising alarms among Americans who value personal responsibility and constitutional protections.
She Was Ready to Have Her 15th Child. Then Came the Felony Charges. – The New York Times https://t.co/ti99vAWPk4
— ForensicPsyMD (@ForensicPsyMD) November 2, 2025
Fetal personhood statutes, now enforced in several states, claim to grant constitutional rights to unborn children from conception. This legal framework emboldens prosecutors, who have dramatically increased the number of criminal cases against pregnant women post-Dobbs. Healthcare providers are now legal reporters, torn between medical ethics and fear of prosecution if they do not report suspected harm to fetuses. States like Alabama, Oklahoma, and South Carolina have led the way, creating an environment where seeking prenatal care can be fraught with legal peril for the most vulnerable.
Family Values Under Threat: The Real-World Impact
These prosecutions create a chilling effect: pregnant women, particularly those in marginalized communities, are now afraid to seek medical help, fearing arrest or even jail time. Families are torn apart as mothers face felony charges for outcomes often beyond their control, such as miscarriages, which medical experts confirm occur in 10–20% of pregnancies. Children are left without mothers, and the economic consequences for families are severe—legal fees, lost income, and social stigma. This approach undermines the very family values conservatives seek to defend and places government power above parental rights.
The broader impact extends to trust in the healthcare system. Doctors and nurses, now required to act as law enforcement, may hesitate to provide care or counsel, further endangering maternal and infant health. Advocacy organizations like Pregnancy Justice document hundreds of such cases, and the legal system is buckling under the weight of these controversial prosecutions. The intended consequence of protecting life is now colliding with unintended harms: devastated families, traumatized children, and a healthcare sector burdened by government mandates that undermine its core mission.
She Was Ready to Have Her 15th Child. Then Came the Felony Charges. https://t.co/KuEPSVGYKY via @NYTimes
— S Sebag Montefiore (@simonmontefiore) November 3, 2025
Constitutional Alarm Bells
Reports from reputable organizations confirm that at least 210 women faced criminal charges for pregnancy outcomes in just the first year after Dobbs, with over 400 cases documented as prosecutions continue. Experts warn that this criminalization is driven by a legal fiction—fetal personhood—and that it opens the door for routine government intrusion into private family matters. This trend not only threatens constitutional due process and parental authority but also risks normalizing government overreach in the most personal aspects of American life.
The fight over these laws is far from settled. Advocacy groups are pushing for reforms to keep healthcare and criminal justice separate, but the political debate remains deeply polarized.
Sources:
Pregnant Women Face Jail and Prison Post-Dobbs—Ms. Magazine
Pregnancy Justice: When a Miscarriage Becomes a Crime—Mother Jones
At least 210 pregnant people faced criminal charges following Dobbs ruling, report says—CBS News
