Melinda Spencer, Kentucky woman charged with fetal homicide after using abortion pills to end a pregnancy after getting pregnant to man who wasn’t her boyfriend, who she’d sought to hide pregnancy from. The indictment ignites debate over women’s right to abortion in Kentucky state and state overreach.
A Kentucky woman faces the potential for the death penalty after being charged with fetal homicide after police say she used abortion pills to end her pregnancy and then burying the fetus in the backyard.
Melinda Spencer, 35, was arrested Wednesday after going to a Campton health care clinic, where she told staff members she used medication purchased online to end her pregnancy, which is illegal in Kentucky.
Kentucky woman admits using abortion pills after becoming pregnant to man who wasn’t her boyfriend
Police said Spencer allegedly admitted to taking the pills on Dec. 26 and burying the fetus — described as a ‘developed male infant’ — two days later in a shallow grave at her Flat Mary Road home, FOX 56 reported.
After obtaining a search warrant, cops found the fetus’ remains wrapped in a white rag and stuffed in a holiday-decorated box inside a plastic bag, court documents stated.
Spencer later confessed that she allegedly ordered the pregnancy-ending drugs after conceiving during an affair, claiming that she didn’t want her boyfriend to find out.
Authorities said she wanted to ‘abort the fetus’ on her own, WKYT reported.
An autopsy is scheduled to determine how developed the fetus was leading up to the ‘abortion’.
Woman’s right to her own body and abortion in Kentucky
In Kentucky, abortions are illegal (following a state supreme court ruling) except in the instance to prevent death or serious injury to the mother. No exceptions for rape or incest exist. State law also bars the distribution of abortion medication.
Following her arrest, Spencer was charged with first-degree fetal homicide, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and first-degree promoting contraband, the outlet reported.
But there’s more.
The homicide offense makes Spencer eligible for the death penalty. She also faces life behind bars if convicted.
Spencer is being held at Three Forks Regional Jail in Beattyville.
