A Woman Buried Her Stillborn Baby in the Yard. Then the State Came for Her
Patience Rousseau was grieving. She was poor. She was alone. And after an unplanned pregnancy she couldn’t afford to carry to term, she suffered a stillbirth at home.
She named him Abel, buried him, and posted about her grief on Facebook.
That post landed her in prison for over two years.
Deputies in tactical gear dug up her baby’s remains while she watched. She was charged with felony manslaughter under an 1911 Nevada statute so broad that ingesting cinnamon could be used as evidence of criminal intent. No scientific proof linked her actions to the stillbirth. It didn’t matter.
She pleaded guilty on bad advice from an overworked public defender. She served time. She lost everything.
And here’s the kicker: Nevada is a blue state where abortion remains legal. Now imagine what’s happening in Republican-led states that have spent decades weaponizing pregnancy outcomes against women.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, the U.S. has seen the highest number on record of criminal cases against women for pregnancy-related conduct – miscarriage, stillbirth, self-managed abortion. The vast majority are in red states like Alabama and Oklahoma.
Prosecutors are reaching for antiquated statutes: Abuse of a corpse, child neglect, even homicide. They are charging women for having a stillbirth. For miscarrying. For being too poor to access the care they needed.
This is not about protecting children. This is about controlling women and punishing women for being women. Making examples of the most vulnerable among us, single mothers, women in poverty, and women with no support system.
They’ve filled courts with judges who see fetuses as persons and women as vessels.
The Trump administration and Republican-led states have greenlit this war. They’ve filled courts with judges who see fetuses as persons and women as vessels. They’ve emboldened prosecutors to treat pregnancy loss as a crime scene.
And they’ve done it all while claiming to be “pro-life.”
To my fellow family law attorneys
We are seeing this play out in custody battles, in termination of parental rights cases, and in courts that treat poor mothers as guilty until proven innocent. This is not a separate issue. This is the same misogynistic machinery, just a different gear.
Patience Rousseau was exonerated. She got a settlement. She is rebuilding her life with her three boys.
But she is the exception. How many more women are sitting in prison right now for the crime of being pregnant and poor in America?
If everyone gives up on us women, there’s nothing left in this world that is worth living for, because we make the world what it is. We create the new life; we teach the new life.
Tom Daley is a board-certified family law attorney with extensive experience practicing across the United States, primarily in Texas. He represents clients in all aspects of family law, including negotiation, settlement, litigation, trial, and appeals.
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