And Indiana woman who ingested poison in a failed suicide attempt is now being charged for murder because her unborn baby died as a result.

Most people would assume that a pregnant woman so despondent about her life for whatever reason that she would attempt to kill herself should get some sort of help. In Indiana, however, this type of woman should be behind bars for murder, for murdering her own unborn child.

Via The Indystar:

An attorney on Wednesday denounced murder and attempted feticide charges formally filed against an Indianapolis woman who tried to commit suicide while she was pregnant. Her child died as a result. Attorney Linda Pence, who’s representing Bei Bei Shuai, 34, said the charges are not only unwarranted, but they could prevent other troubled mothers from seeking the help they need. Sex. Abortion. Parenthood. Power. The latest news, delivered straight to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE … Shuai admitted to ingesting rat poison during the late stages of her pregnancy in December. Friends took her to a hospital to get help. Shuai gave birth to a daughter, Angel, who was put on life support but eventually was removed because doctors determined they couldn’t help her. Angel died Jan. 3.

Was the poisoning really just an attempt at a do it yourself abortion, as the prosecution appears to be claiming? If Shuai is charged as such, the state has just declared that any pregnant woman who is hurt in any way that could be seen as self-inflicted could be charge as a potential self-aborter and murderer, as nearly happened in Iowa last year, or passed in Utah after that.

What is upsetting in these cases is that it is the prosecutor who deciding on a motive for a “murder.” And even worse, that the alleged murder the prosecutor decided on apparently holds much more weight than the life of a woman who nearly died.