Criminal
Jan. 7, 2022
AG warns against Kings County stillbirth murder prosecutions
“These cases are not about abortion nor women’s reproductive rights in any way,” Kings County DA spokesman Philip W. Esbenshade responded. “Ms. Perez’ case in particular is about a person who did specific acts, specifically repeated abuse of illegal methamphetamine while pregnant. Those criminal acts directly resulted in the death of a viable fetus.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a first of its kind legal alert Thursday to all state law enforcement agencies including district attorneys clarifying the murder section under the Penal Code was not intended to prosecute women who experience stillbirths or the loss of their pregnancies.
The alert aims to prevent the improper use of the law, according to Bonta, referring to two Kings County women who were charged with fetal murder.
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