Iowa woman attempted to abort another woman's baby by drugging her food

An Iowa woman has been arrested after lacing another woman's lasagna with oxycodone in an effort to kill the woman's preborn baby.

Key Takeaways:

• Amber Snow was arrested on March 10 for trying to forcibly abort another woman's preborn baby by serving her a family-size lasagna laced with oxycodone.

• It is not known if other substances were also added to the food.

• The woman and her baby are reportedly safe.

The Details:

The Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office announced 36-year-old Amber Snow's arrest to local news outlets, saying she currently faces felony charges, which include delivering a controlled substance, attempting to intentionally terminate a human pregnancy without the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant person, administering a harmful substance to an adult and a juvenile, and a misdemeanor child endangerment charge.

It's currently unclear why Snow wanted to force an abortion upon the unnamed woman. However, Snow shares a child with members of the victim's family, and made the lasagna with the help of a co-conspirator. The child somehow "was aware that the lasagna was made to cause harm and had objected to it," according to KGAN. The incident occurred at the end of December and was brought to the attention of authorities in January.

After the sheriff's office was notified, an investigation began, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Criminalistics Laboratory confirmed the lasagna had been laced with oxycodone. Opioids like oxycodone are known to cause miscarriage.

While the sheriff's office has not clarified whether the victim ate the lasagna, or if she has given birth, they did confirm that both mother and baby survived the incident and are safe.

The Big Picture:

It has become alarmingly common for individuals to order lethal drugs online and force them upon their victims. Sometimes these lethal drugs are abortion drugs; others may simply be substances known to cause harm to preborn children.

Years ago, the FDA had stringent requirements in place to maintain the supposed safety of the abortion pill regimen, including a mandate for the first pill to be taken in-person and in front of a physician. It was also only permitted through seven weeks gestation.

The Obama administration weakened these safety protocols, allowing the pills to be taken through 10 weeks and removing the requirement for them to be taken in-person in front of a physician. The Biden-Harris administration went further, allowing abortion pills to be sent through the mail, permanently eliminated the requirement for the pills to be dispensed in person, and allowed retail pharmacies to dispense abortion pills.

As the drugs can now be easily ordered online, numerous women have become victims of abusers looking to force them into abortions, often without their knowledge or consent.

Though it is rarer for a pregnant woman to become the victim of someone who is not an intimate partner, intimate partner violence against pregnant women is significant.

The Bottom Line:

Snow is being held in the Winneshiek County jail on a $100,000 bond, and the investigation is still ongoing, meaning more charges could still be filed as more information comes to light.