Conservative prosecutors across the U.S. are attempting to hold mothers who have lost their children — both born and unborn — accountable for the tragic, unintended outcomes of their pregnancies.

The women mentioned in the article below — one of whom is facing a life sentence — are being charged with the murder of their newborn or unborn children for drug use or suicide attempts. Robert McDuff, a Mississippi civil rights lawyer, leveled a sensible counterargument: “If it’s not a crime for a mother to intentionally end her pregnancy, how can it be a crime for her to do it unintentionally, whether by taking drugs or smoking or whatever it is?” Prosecutors in the same state are attempting to legitimize their charges in part by claiming personhood begins at the moment of conception. –ARK