Source: Regina Marsh/GoFundMe
Amari Marsh spent 22 days at the Orangeburg-Calhoun Regional Detention Center and an additional 13 months under house arrest in South Carolina after being charged with murder/homicide following her early labor in 2023. In August, a grand jury dismissed her case, meaning she will not face trial, according to KFF Health News. Still, Marsh’s experience highlights the pressing need for abortion rights in the U.S. and serves as a vital reminder of the challenges women will continue to face if significant change does not occur after November’s presidential election.
Marsh, a student at South Carolina University, was was facing 20 years to life in prison, after she went into sudden labor during her second trimester in March 2023. Faced with intense abdominal pain, the young student went to the emergency room to get checked up, unaware at the time that she was pregnant with a baby girl.
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Hospital staff crowded around her without explaining what was happening, their bright lights shining in her face. “I was scared,” Marsh, now 23, recalled to KFF Health News.
Authorities accused Marsh of contributing to her daughter’s death, according to the case report.
According to the sheriff’s department report, staff informed Marsh that she was pregnant and that a fetal heartbeat could be detected. Confused and overwhelmed, she decided to leave the hospital as her pain eventually subsided.
However, in the middle of the night, the pain returned. She woke up with a strong urge to use the bathroom and unexpectedly delivered her baby daughter, who fell into the toilet. Her boyfriend, who was with her at the time, called 911 and the emergency dispatcher instructed her to remove the baby from the toilet, but due to intense fear and shock, Marsh hesitated.
“I couldn’t because I couldn’t keep myself together.”
Medical staff say Marsh’s daughter was still alive when they retrieved her from the toilet, according to an investigation reported obtained by KFF Health News, but the baby later died. Instead of offering support and guidance to the young mother following her traumatic experience, officials from the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office accused Marsh of contributing to her daughter’s death by not removing the infant from the toilet in a timely manner, according to the arrest warrant.
Authorities also stated that the cause of death was “respiratory complications” resulting from a premature delivery linked to a maternal chlamydia infection, which Marsh said she only learned about after the loss. The CDC also notes that an active chlamydia infection during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm delivery.
Additionally, investigators claimed that prior to her premature labor, Marsh visited Planned Parenthood and received a “Plan C” pill that could potentially induce an abortion, a claim she vehemently denied.
When Marsh went into premature labor, South Carolina’s abortion ban had not yet been enacted, allowing her to still access an abortion within the legal timeframe of 20 weeks post-fertilization, or 22 weeks gestational age. However, later that spring, the Republican-controlled legislature passed a law restricting abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detected, with limited exceptions for cases of rape, incest, or threats to the mother’s life. Importantly, this law does not impose criminal penalties on women who seek or obtain abortions.
Women are urging for abortion rights to be restored.
In this tragic moment of her life, Marsh was viewed as a criminal rather than a grieving mother—a reality that raises concerns for many women across the U.S. As the November election approaches, voters are hoping that Vice President Kamala Harris will restore abortion rights, a plea she has vowed to pull through on.
A KFF poll conducted in August found that 74% of reproductive-age women in the United States believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases. A majority support a nationwide right to abortion (70%), oppose a federal ban on abortion at 15 weeks (64%), and do not favor allowing states to decide the legality of abortion (74%). This sentiment is shared by the majority of Democratic and independent women, as well as a significant portion of Republican women. Among women of reproductive age, 1 in 7 (14%) has had an abortion at some point in their lives.
Higher percentages of Black (21%) and Hispanic (19%) women report having had an abortion, compared to 11% of white women. Across political lines, similar proportions of Republican, Democratic, and independent women have experienced an abortion. Additionally, more than 6 in 10 women of reproductive age express concern that they, or someone close to them, may be unable to obtain an abortion if necessary to protect their life or health (63%). Similarly, 64% worry that abortion bans could jeopardize the safety of future pregnancies for themselves or loved ones.
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