Amari Marsh’s Story: A Call for Change
Yesterday I saw an ad where a woman is running in the dark with a flashlight to guide her way. She’s heading to the US border with Mexico, carrying a cooler full of embryos, which are now outlawed in our country. Suddenly the lights of what we assume are a police car appear, and she frantically starts running for the border. A few years ago this would have seemed like a tale of pure fiction right out of The Handmaid’s Tale, but it’s increasingly becoming a reality in a post-Roe America.
Amari Marsh: A Tragic Story
A case in point is the horrific story of Amari Marsh, a 23-year-old South Carolina woman, that was published today at Raw Story. Last year she was accused of murder for losing a pregnancy, and she is bravely telling her story because she says she wants to “help other young women that are in my position now and will be in the future.”
Her Life Before the Incident
Amari played clarinet as section leader in the marching band and once performed at Carnegie Hall. In college, she was majoring in biology and planned to become a doctor. Things started to change for her in November 2022, when she took an in-home pregnancy test that was positive. She kept having her period so she thought that the test might have been wrong. But that was not the case.
The Day Everything Changed
On Feb. 28, 2023, Marsh said, she experienced abdominal pain that was “way worse” than regular menstrual cramps. She went to the emergency room, investigation records show, but left after several hours without being treated. Back at home, she said, the pain grew worse. She returned to the hospital, this time by ambulance.
Hospital staffers crowded around her, she said, and none of them explained what was happening to her. Bright lights shone in her face. “I was scared,” she said.
According to the sheriff’s department report, hospital staffers told Marsh that she was pregnant and that a fetal heartbeat could be detected. Freaked out and confused, she chose to leave the hospital a second time, she said, and her pain had subsided.
In the middle of the night, she said, the pain started again. She woke up, she recalled, feeling an intense urge to use the bathroom. “And when I did, the child came,” she said. “I screamed because I was scared, because I didn’t know what was going on.”
The Aftermath
Her boyfriend at the time called 911. The emergency dispatcher “kept telling me to take the baby out” of the toilet, she recalled. “I couldn’t because I couldn’t even keep myself together.”
First medical responders detected signs of life and tried to perform lifesaving measures as they headed to Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg, the incident report said. But at the hospital, Marsh learned that her infant, a girl, had not survived.
“I kept asking to see the baby,” she said. “They wouldn’t let me.”
The Legal Nightmare
In a pre-Dobbs America that would have been the end of it, a woman tragically loses a pregnancy but strives to move on with her life. But not today, not in a state with a strict six-week Trump abortion ban. Not in a state where its Supreme Court ruled that “a pregnant person’s interest in their bodily autonomy is outweighed by the state’s interest in fetal life.”
The Investigation
The day after Amari lost her pregnancy, a sheriff’s deputy told Marsh in her hospital room that the incident was under investigation but said that Marsh “was currently not in any trouble.” She didn’t think much of it, because or course she did not feel as though she did anything wrong.
Law enforcement had other ideas. More than 10 weeks later a police officer texted her requesting a follow-up meeting. Marsh arranged to meet the officer on June 2, 2023. During that meeting, she was arrested. Marsh was charged with murder/homicide by child abuse. She spent 22 days at the Orangeburg-Calhoun Regional Detention Center, where she was initially held without bond, facing 20 years to life in prison.
The Charges
The arrest warrant alleges that not moving the infant from the toilet at the urging of the dispatcher was ultimately “a proximate cause of her daughter’s death.” The warrant also cites as the cause of death “respiratory complications” due to a premature delivery stemming from a maternal chlamydia infection. Marsh said she was unaware of the infection until after the pregnancy loss.
The Media Frenzy
In trying to tie Amari’s tragic loss to the issue of abortion, an incident report filed by the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office on the day Amari lost the pregnancy stated that in January 2023 Marsh made an appointment at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia to “take the Plan-C pill which would possibly cause an abortion to occur.” The report doesn’t specify whether she took — or even obtained — the drug. During an interview at her parents’ house, Marsh denied going to Planned Parenthood or taking medicine to induce abortion.
To make matters worse, local and national anti-abortion groups seized on Marsh’s story when her name and mug shot were published online by the local newspaper. “Orangeburg Newborn Dies in Toilet” was the title of a blog post published by National Right to Life.
Marsh said she made the mistake of googling herself when she was released from jail.
“It was heartbreaking to see all those things,” she said. “I cried so many times.”
Justice at Last
Just this past August — 13 months after she was released from jail to house arrest with an ankle monitor — Amari was cleared by a grand jury. So thankfully her case will not proceed to trial. But Amari should never have been forced to go through this horror to begin with.
The Bigger Picture
This case shows how pregnancy loss is being criminalized around the country, said U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, a Democrat and graduate of South Carolina State University whose congressional district includes Orangeburg.
“This is not a slogan when we talk about this being an ‘election about the restoration of our freedoms,’” Clyburn said.
Moving Forward
Today, Marsh has moved back in with her parents and is seeing a therapist. She is taking classes at a local community college and hopes to reenroll in college to earn a four-year degree. She still wants to become a doctor.
Amari’s story highlights once again why we MUST elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. And this is not just about women – it’s about MEN too. Men, this is about your wives, daughters, sisters and what they are going through right now with all the serious challenges to their health care – even more so for women of color and Black women in particular. Wake the f$%k up!
FAQs on Handmaids USA and SC Woman Accused of Murder
1. What is Handmaids USA?
Handmaids USA is a term that has been used to describe the situation in South Carolina where a woman was charged with murder for experiencing a miscarriage.
2. What happened to the woman in South Carolina?
The woman in South Carolina was charged with murder after she experienced a miscarriage. The case has drawn significant attention and criticism, with many arguing that the charge is unjust and overly punitive.
3. Why was the woman charged with murder?
The woman was charged with murder because the state’s fetal homicide law was applied to her case. This law allows for charges to be brought against individuals who cause the death of a fetus, even if the mother survives.
4. What is the fetal homicide law in South Carolina?
The fetal homicide law in South Carolina allows for charges to be brought against individuals who cause the death of a fetus, regardless of whether the mother survives. This law has been criticized for being overly broad and punitive.
5. How has the public reacted to this case?
The public has reacted with widespread outrage and criticism to the charges brought against the woman. Many have argued that the charge is unjust and that it undermines women’s rights and reproductive health.
6. What are the implications of this case for women’s rights?
The case has significant implications for women’s rights, as it highlights the potential for overly punitive laws to be applied to women who experience miscarriages or other reproductive health issues.
7. Are there similar cases in other states?
Yes, there have been similar cases in other states where women have been charged with crimes related to miscarriages or other reproductive health issues. However, the specifics of these cases vary widely.
8. How can people get involved in advocating for women’s rights in this context?
People can get involved by supporting organizations that advocate for women’s reproductive rights, contacting their elected representatives to express opposition to overly punitive laws, and engaging in public discourse about the issue.
9. What are the potential consequences of this case if it goes to trial?
The potential consequences of this case if it goes to trial could include a guilty verdict and severe penalties, which would further exacerbate the controversy and public outcry.
10. How can we ensure that similar cases do not happen in the future?
To ensure that similar cases do not happen in the future, it is crucial to advocate for changes in laws that protect women’s reproductive rights and prevent overly punitive measures from being applied to miscarriages or other reproductive health issues.
