December 14, 2023

Dennis Watkins
Trumbull County Prosecutor
160 High Street NW
Warren, Ohio 44481

Dear Prosecutor Watkins:

We write today to add the voices of more than 4,000 doctors, healthcare professionals, business
and community leaders, and concerned citizens to the rapidly growing chorus protesting the
unjust prosecution of Brittany Watts and to request that you immediately dismiss the
unwarranted felony abuse of a corpse charge that has been filed against her.
We are adamantly opposed to this prosecution for a number of reasons:
As citizens, we are outraged that the criminal justice system is being used to punish Ms. Watts
who, like thousands of women each year, spontaneously miscarried a non-viable fetus into a
toilet and then flushed. By seeking to indict her, you are clearly implying that anyone who
miscarries at any point in pregnancy in our state must retrieve the fetal tissue whether they are at
home, at work, at school, at a restaurant or other public place and preserve it until the tissue can
be disposed of properly even though Ohio law does not define what a proper disposal method
would be nor require that this non-existent method be used. That fact alone renders your
prosecution both unjust and ludicrous.
As physicians we are deeply concerned that your actions will deter women who miscarry from
obtaining the medical attention they need and deserve. Ms. Watts came under investigation after
a worker at the hospital where she was being treated for life-threatening hemorrhaging called 9-
1-1. Police went to her home, removed and destroyed her toilet in a search for fetal remains, and
then filed a criminal complaint against her. We have no doubt that women facing the threat of
jail time and hefty fines will conceal the fact that they have miscarried and refuse to seek
treatment. That means the continued prosecution of Ms. Watts will place the lives and health of
those women at risk.
As the organization that began and led the effort to enshrine a broad range of reproductive rights,
including miscarriage care, in the Ohio Constitution, Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights
(OPRR) believes prosecuting Ms. Watts conflicts with both the spirit and the letter of the
Reproductive Freedom Amendment which was recently approved by Ohio voters.

Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights

545 E Town Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Article 1, Section 22 A of the Constitution now guarantees that “Every individual has a right to
make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on:
1. contraception;
2. fertility treatment;
3. continuing one’s own pregnancy;
4. miscarriage care; [emphasis added]
5. and abortion.”
Article 1, Section 22 B. prohibits the state, which includes any governmental entity or political
subdivision, from directly or indirectly burdening, penalizing, prohibiting, interfering with, or
discriminating against “An individual’s voluntary exercise” of the rights delineated in Section A.
By seeking to indict Ms. Watts on the charge of felony abuse of a corpse you are clearly
attempting to penalize her for exercising rights now guaranteed her by the Ohio Constitution.
Finally, there is absolutely no evidence that Ms. Watts’ actions—actions that as noted above are
repeated by thousands of women who miscarry every year—violated ORC 2927.01 (B) which
reads:
(B) No person, except as authorized by law, shall treat a human corpse in a way
that would outrage reasonable community sensibilities.
Mr. Watkins, as the widespread and growing public outcry and dismay related to this case clearly
demonstrates, the only thing that has outraged “reasonable community sensibilities” is the ill-
advised and needlessly cruel decision to pursue criminal charges against Ms. Watts—a decision
you can and should immediately reverse by exercising your prosecutorial discretion.
The interest of justice and simple human decency dictate that you drop the charges against Ms.
Watts so she can grieve her loss, reclaim her privacy which was grievously invaded by law
enforcement, and move on with her life. We implore you to do what is clearly and
unambiguously the right thing.
Sincerely,

Dr. Lauren Beene

Executive Director, Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, on behalf of the organization and:

Dr. Marcela Azevedo Dr. Nancy Li Dr. Aziza Wahby Dr. David Hackney
President, OPRR Secretary, OPRR Treasurer, OPRR Board Member, OPRR

CC’ed via email to:

Doug Franklin, Mayor, City of Warren
Enzo Cantalamessa, Law Director, City of Warren
Members of Warren City Council

Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights

545 E Town Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215