A Georgia district attorney has announced his office will no longer pursue charges against a pregnant woman who miscarried last month.
Tifton Police Department officers arrested 24-year-old Selena Maria Chandler-Scott after discovering fetal remains in a dumpster at Brookfield Mews Apartment Complex on March 20.
Upon arriving at the scene around 6:00 a.m. officers found Chandler-Scott unconscious and bleeding. Emergency responders determined that she had suffered a miscarriage and she was immediately transported to the Tift Regional Medical Center for treatment.
A witness told police she had placed a fetus in a bag in a dumpster outside. Officials later recovered the fetal remains, which were sent for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
A day later, police announced they had charged Chandler-Scott with one count of concealing the death of another person and one count of throwing away or abandonment of a dead body prohibited.
On Friday, District Attorney Patrick Warren announced he had dismissed the charges.
A medical examiner had determined that the fetus was approximately 19 weeks. It was found to be “non-viable at the time it was naturally miscarried,” said Warren, citing the report. The fetus showed no signs of breathing on its own or foul play.
Warren said his decision to dismiss the charges “follows a comprehensive review of the Tifton Police Department’s investigative file, Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Medical Examiner’s report, relevant Georgia statutes, case law and input from both legal and medical experts.”
He added: “After thorough examination of the facts and the law, my office has determined that continuing prosecution is not legally sustainable and not in the interest of justice. This case is heartbreaking and emotionally difficult for everyone involved, but our decision must be grounded in law — not emotion or speculation.”
Chandler-Scott did not violate any crimes, Warren emphasized, explaining that he had cautioned police to wait for medical findings and complete witness statements before arresting her.
“This case highlights the importance of careful review and thoughtful decision-making, particularly in sensitive situations like pregnancy loss,” Warren said.
Charging women for having miscarriages has become an increasingly fraught issue since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022, which safeguarded women’s rights to abortion.
In 2023 Ohio officers charged Brittany Watts after a miscarriage with felony abuse of a corpse.
A nurse at the hospital she visited following the miscarriage reported her to the police.
The charge was dismissed after a grand jury refused to indict her.
Between 1973 and 2022 more than 1,800 people faced criminal consequences connected to pregnancy, according to Pregnancy Justice, an organization that battles against the criminalization of pregnant people.
Two percent of the cases involved people who had been charged with tampering with a corpse or something similar, out of the cases in which researchers could analyze the charges.
The Independent has reached out to Chandler-Scott for comment.
