Prosecutor drops homicide charge against Kentucky woman accused of aborting baby

An eastern Kentucky woman accused of chemically aborting her baby then burying him in a shallow grave will not face a fetal homicide charge, despite a grand jury indictment earlier this week. Commonwealth’s Attorney Miranda King on Wednesday dismissed the charge against Miranda Spencer, according to local news outlet WDRB. State law prohibits the prosecution of a pregnant woman for causing the death of her unborn child, Miranda said, according to the outlet.

Police arrested Spencer, a Wolfe County woman, after she admitted to ending her pregnancy prematurely with a mail-ordered abortion pill, according to Kentucky State Police. Investigators discovered the body of a developed male infant in a shallow grave on Spencer’s property after receiving a tip from a worker at the United Clinic in Campton, Ky., police said. Officials arrested the 35-year-old woman on Dec. 31. A grand jury on Tuesday indicted Spencer on charges of fetal homicide, concealing the birth of an infant, abuse of a corpse, and evidence tampering.

Isn’t Kentucky a pro-life state? Commonwealth’s Attorney Miranda King explained on Wednesday that a specific state law barred the prosecution of a woman who caused the death of her own unborn child, according to local reporting. Spencer will still face class D felony charges for corpse abuse and evidence tampering, and a misdemeanor charge of concealing an infant birth, the attorney noted. King described herself as a pro-life prosecutor, but noted her duty to honor the state laws she was sworn to defend. Spencer’s remaining charges will be prosecuted fairly and fully, King said.

WORLD reached out to King for comment, as well as Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman. This story will be updated with any response WORLD receives.

Dig deeper: Read Travis K. Kircher’s previous report for more background on the case.