On Tuesday (February 6), Rewire reported the story of Latice Fisher, a 32-year-old Black woman living in Mississippi, who was charged with second-degree murder after a home birth in April 2017. The baby was pronounced dead upon arriving at the local medical center. Per Rewire:

A grand jury on January 5 indicted Fisher on a second-degree murder charge. She was arraigned on Wednesday and bail was set at $100,000. If found guilty, she could face 20 to 40 years, or life, in prison. Fisher has pleaded not guilty.

Advocates like Laurie Bertram Roberts, co-founder of Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund (MRFF), fear that Fisher’s case is just the latest evidence of a trend of criminalizing women of color for the outcomes of their pregnancies.

“What’s happening to Mrs. Fisher and her family is the latest in a line of women of color having their pregnancies and specifically pregnancy loss criminalized,” Bertram Roberts told Rewire. “It’s a disturbing trend. Given what has been made public, I can see no crime here, only loss.”

In the last 12 years, two other women were charged following stillbirths in Mississippi. In both cases, the charges were eventually dismissed.

Read the full article here.