Why gunshot victim has been charged over death of her unborn baby

Marshae Jones, 27, to face manslaughter
trial in Alabama after being shot

In Depth

Police say Marshae Jones “initiated and continued the fight”
that ended with her being shot in the stomach by another woman,
Ebony Jemison. But while Jemison will not face prosecution, Jones
has been indicted by a grand jury to stand trial for
manslaughter.

The two women clashed outside a shop in the city of
Pleasant Grove on 4 December 2018. The fight, reportedly over the
baby’s father, ended with Jemison firing a single shot at Jones,
who was five months pregnant. The bullet struck Jones in the
stomach, killing the foetus.

Police officer Lieutenant Danny Reid told Alabama’s AL.com that Jemison had reacted to defend
herself, and that he would not call Jones a shooting
victim. 

“The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was
the unborn baby. She had no choice in being brought unnecessarily
into a fight where she was relying on her mother for
protection.”

Jones was charged only after a grand jury had failed to indict
Jemison for manslaughter, notes the news site.

Why is the story gaining national attention?

CNN says the story is the latest of several
controversial incidents in Alabama involving the legal status of
unborn children. “Once again, Alabama is at the forefront of a
nationwide debate over the rights of pregnant women,” the
broadcaster notes.

In other cases, women have been
charged for drug use during
pregnancy or a car
accident that resulted in
the death of a foetus,
The New York Times reports.

Earlier this year, Alabama passed the most restrictive abortion
legislation in the US. A doctor who performs an abortion
for any reason except risk to the life of the mother may now face
up to 99 years in prison, although the law will almost certainly be
overturned as incompatible with the federal right to abortion.

CNN says that the language used by police to describe the recent
shooting incident – in particular, that the foetus was “relying on
her mother for protection” – has “incensed critics who say Alabama
keeps prioritising foetuses over women”.

And the reaction?

Amanda Reyes of the Yellowhammer Fund, which helps women travel
out of Alabama to have abortions, said: “Marshae Jones is being
charged with manslaughter for being pregnant and getting
shot… The state of Alabama has proven yet again that the
moment a person becomes pregnant their sole responsibility is to
produce a live, healthy baby and that it considers any action a
pregnant person takes that might impede in that live birth to be a
criminal act.”

The Guardian quotes Ilyse Hogue, president of
Naral Pro-Choice America, who said: “This is what 2019 looks like
for a pregnant woman of colour without means in a red state. This
is now.”

The shooter, Jemison, told BuzzFeed News she felt Jones should
take some responsibility for her actions, but added: “I don’t feel
she should be charged with manslaughter because she didn’t go upon
killing her baby herself… I don’t feel as if it’s fair for her to
sit in jail after dealing with her losing her child situation.”