South Carolina woman arrested for allegedly using pills to end pregnancy

A woman in South Carolina has been arrested and charged for allegedly trying to induce her own abortion using medication.

The woman was reported by staff at a hospital in Greenville, South Carolina, after visiting a hospital in October 2021 with labor pains. Ultimately, she delivered a stillborn fetus at about 25 weeks and four days of pregnancy. In an incident report, staff claimed the woman had admitted to having taken abortion pills in an attempt to end her pregnancy.

South Carolina is one of just three states, alongside Nevada and Oklahoma, that explicitly criminalizes self-managed abortion. The state was also the first to bring charges on behalf of a fetus successfully against a pregnant person. In 1997, Cornelia Whitner was found guilty for criminal child neglect, after taking crack cocaine during the third trimester of her pregnancy.

Broadly speaking, anti-abortion laws are written to exempt pregnant people from prosecution for seeking abortion care, though there are signs this is beginning to change, with some lawmakers recently introducing bills to bring charges against people who seek abortions.

Local abortion funds have also raised concern over the incident.

The Greenville police department confirmed that the woman was arrested and subsequently released the next day after making $2,500 bail. She awaits trial.