Miscarriages and stillbirths are tragedies, but some are exploiting them to promote expansive abortion laws.
Earlier this month, a South Carolina woman was arrested and charged with desecration of human remains after allegedly giving birth to a stillborn baby and then leaving the baby’s body in a dumpster. While arrests for this particular charge aren’t new, abortion proponents are falsely claiming that women have never been arrested for such a thing before pro-life laws were enacted and that these women are actually being ‘arrested for miscarriages’ or simply because they were pregnant.
And yet, the improper disposal of these children’s remains highlights the fact that deeper issues are at play in a society that devalues preborn children and also fails to properly educate and care for women who experience pregnancy loss.
Key Takeaways:
- On July 3, Byresha Asia Williams was arrested and charged with desecration of human remains after her baby’s body was found in a dumpster.
- Pro-abortion influencers are using this tragic case and others like it to promote abortion on demand and claim pro-lifers want women jailed for natural miscarriage.
- Pro-life laws protect preborn babies from abortion, but do not allow women who have abortions to be prosecuted. Therefore, it seems illogical to assume that pro-lifers would want women who didn’t have abortions in jail.
The Details:
Byresha Asia Williams, 31, was arrested on July 3 and charged with desecration of human remains after the body of her baby was found inside a plastic bag in a dumpster at the Super 8 Hotel in Florence, South Carolina. It’s believed that she put the body there on either June 17th or 18th.
Very few details are known about Williams, her baby, or the incident, but she could face up to 10 years in prison for disposing of the baby’s body in the way she did.
The Context:
Similar cases have made headlines recently regarding women in Ohio, Texas, and Georgia, as well as another in South Carolina. Most often, it appears that women have miscarried their babies or experienced stillbirths, but there are cases in which babies have been born alive and murdered or left to die.
None of the women who suffered natural pregnancy loss have been arrested for (or convicted of) an illegal abortion because their babies died naturally; even if they had undergone illegal abortions, pro-life laws do not allow for the prosecution of women for abortions.
Following Williams’ arrest, however, pro-abortion influencer Jessica Valenti took to her blog, “Abortion, Every Day,” to complain that Williams had been arrested on a felony charge “for her pregnancy.” Valenti claimed that Williams’ arrest is a sneaky workaround for pro-lifers to put women in jail — women who haven’t even had abortions.
She argues that the same people behind laws protecting preborn children from abortion — laws that do not allow the prosecution of women for having illegal abortions — are finding ways to circumvent their own laws to put women in jail for natural pregnancy loss.
But… why? After all, pro-lifers, seemingly more than most, know the difference between a miscarriage (accidental death) and an abortion (intentional killing).
And even if such an unlikely idea were true, how would you explain similar stories of arrests that took place when Roe was the law of the land?
In 1990, when abortions were legal in every state, Alejandra Baena was arrested after the body of a baby girl was found in a dumpster in Anaheim, California because she was suspected of killing the child. She was ultimately freed when no evidence could be found that the baby had been born alive.
Another case made headlines in 1992 when a baby girl was found in a garbage bag. In that case, it was determined that the baby was intentionally killed by smothering. If there had been no investigation (which ultimately seems to be what abortion advocates want anytime the body of an infant or preborn child is discovered), that would never have been determined, and a case of infanticide would have been overlooked.
Also in 1992, a baby boy was found clinging to life at the bottom of an apartment building’s garbage chute. He weighed eight pounds and his umbilical cord was still attached. He wasn’t breathing, but an officer pulled him from the garbage and brought him back to life. Perhaps abortion advocates would have preferred he had been left to die as his mother intended.
Why It Matters:
For decades, everyone understood that if a baby was found in the garbage, there would be an investigation to determine if a crime had been committed, and the mother could be arrested if she was found to have broken the law or intentionally killed a child — and it was not because of the legality of abortion at the time.
At the same time, people must understand that women don’t always know what to do when they suffer a miscarriage or a stillbirth, especially in a world that doesn’t value preborn human lives and only treats them as human lives under certain conditions.
Some women have kept their own miscarriages and stillbirths secret for decades; they may have felt misplaced shame or blame, or may have been told to bury their emotions over the loss of their children. And this has only worsened instead of improving.
Since abortion was legalized, abortion businesses have been dumping bodies, acting as if it’s typical and expected to put babies down garbage disposals, into dumpsters, and into medical waste bins. After years of a societal devaluing of preborn lives, abortion has normalized the callous treatment of their bodies.
And today, abortion supporters are exploiting the bodies of miscarried and stillborn babies to manipulate Americans for a pro-abortion agenda. This isn’t showing respect for women or their children.
The Bottom Line:
Pro-life laws protect preborn children from intentional killing. Period.
Rather than cheer on any of these arrests, pro-lifers must lead the charge on teaching women about miscarriage, stillbirth, and how to honor their lost children.
Follow Live Action News on Facebook and Instagram for more pro-life news.
