Prosecutor Group Clarifies That Women Shouldn’t Actually Call the Cops After a Miscarriage

A professional group is doing damage control after a West Virginia attorney suggested women self-report their pregnancy losses.

By Susan Rinkunas | June 10, 2025 | 3:19pm

Photo: Screenshot Abortion Politics

Prosecutor Group Clarifies That Women Shouldn’t Actually Call the Cops After a Miscarriage

Days after a West Virginia prosecutor suggested that women who experience miscarriages should call the police to avoid criminal charges, a professional group is advising people not to do that.

The West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Association said in a Monday news release that comments made by Raleigh County prosecutor Tom Truman do not reflect its official position or interpretation of state law. “The WVPAA wants to make abundantly clear that any assertion that individuals who experience the unfortunate event of a miscarriage in West Virginia should be notifying law enforcement or face potential criminal prosecution is incorrect and not supported by West Virginia law,” the organization said.

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The WVPAA felt the need to make this statement after Truman spoke to both local and national news outlets last week about potential criminal charges following miscarriages in the state, which bans almost all abortions. The ban exempts pregnant women from criminal charges, but Truman explained that some West Virginia prosecutors could, if they chose, charge people who experience pregnancy loss under state laws regarding the disposal of human remains. He said that, while he personally did not support pressing such charges, his colleagues might consider the intent of women and pregnant people, as well as the gestation when they lose their pregnancy. He went so far as to suggest that people self-report their miscarriages to try to prevent charges: “Call your doctor. Call law enforcement, or 911, and just say, ‘I miscarried. I want you to know.'”

Yveka Pierre, senior litigation counsel at If/When/How, a reproductive justice organization, previously told Jezebel that prosecutors should not be “theorizing” about how to put people in jail for their pregnancy loss. Pierre said people reporting their miscarriage to the police would endanger them. “I don’t think you need to be a co-writer on Law & Order SVU to think about why that is a not so great idea,” she said.

But Truman doubled down in an interview on Friday with CNN by saying he was trying to be helpful amid abortion bans that resulted after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. “It’s a different world now, and there’s a lot of discretion that prosecutors have, and some of them have agendas where they would like to make you an example,” he said. “I’m just trying to say, ‘be careful.'”

The WVPAA’s Monday statement also said it didn’t support investigations of pregnancy loss. “The WVPAA does not agree with or support the idea that experiencing a miscarriage could, or should, trigger criminal liability,” it said. “Such a position is contrary to both the law and the values held by prosecutors across our state, who remain committed to justice, compassion, and the appropriate application of criminal statutes.”

But despite this comment, people could still face charges in West Virginia and elsewhere because the choice is up to police and prosecutors who might suspect that a miscarriage or stillbirth was actually a self-managed abortion. Women have been investigated for their miscarriages in Ohio, Georgia, Texas, and other abortion-banned states and some have been charged with crimes like concealing a death or abuse of a corpse. These kinds of investigations happened even before Roe fell.

If people do have questions about their pregnancy loss, they can call If/When/How’s Repro Legal Helpline at (844) 868-2812 for confidential legal information and advice, or can contact the Miscarriage + Abortion Hotline at (833) 246-2632 for confidential medical support.

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