Alabama drops charge against woman who lost fetus

A district attorney in Alabama said Wednesday she was dropping the manslaughter charge against 28-year-old Marshae Jones, after finding that it was "not in the best interests of justice to pursue."

The decision followed last week's conclusion by a grand jury that Jones had intentionally caused the death of her fetus by initiating a fight, during which she was shot. That finding sparked outrage, with women's rights groups saying the case represented a further encroachment on female reproductive rights.

Read more: Alabama gears up for abortion fight activists thought was history

In her finding, district attorney Lynneice Washington said a review of the facts led to the decision to drop the charges.

"There are no winners, only losers, in this sad case," said Washington.

In December, Jones and another woman, 23-year-old Ebony Jemison, had become involved in an argument that was apparently about the fetus's father. Police said an investigation showed that Jones, who was five months pregnant, had started the fight, and the grand jury ruled that Jemison fired in self defense.

'An irrational theory'

Defense lawyers filed a motion to have the charges against their client dismissed, claiming the idea Jones started the fight to harm the baby was based on a "tortured" and "irrational theory" that ignores the law and ignores reason.

While a 2006 Alabama law allows homicide charges to be brought when a fetus or embryo is killed, it also includes a provision that does not authorize prosecution of a "woman with respect to her unborn child."

Read more: Opinion: Strict US anti-abortion laws harm women

Legal scholars had said the arrest posed questions about what other scenarios could constitute putting a fetus in danger — such as driving a car or swimming in a pool.

The American Civil Liberties Union commended the decision by "a prosecutor who is not afraid to use prosecutorial discretion and power to refuse to prosecute when the law and justice demand that charges should be dropped."

Jones' arrest came at a time of tension over women's reproductive rights, with more than a dozen states in the southern and midwestern US passing contentious restrictive abortion laws that were subsequently challenged in court.

The law in Alabama, which was passed in May, bans abortion even in cases of rape or incest, and puts it on a par with homicide.

rc/se (AFP, Reuters, AP)

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