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I don’t understand.

Jill

This story.

A local woman has been arrested after she was accused of killing her unborn child by cutting the umbilical cord, authorities said Monday.

Jennifer Darlene Johnson, 30, of 1796 Lauderdale 7, Florence, has been charged with manslaughter, authorities said.

Manslaughter is a Class B felony, which is punishable by two to 20 years if convicted.

Florence police detective Capt. Ron Tyler said Johnson was seven months into her pregnancy when she was taken to Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield on Friday night, where her baby was delivered. Tyler said the baby was dead at birth.

“She said her water broke sometime Friday morning and then she started experiencing pain and bleeding and was taken to Helen Keller Hospital,” Tyler said.

He said medical personnel at Keller Hospital, during the course of the baby’s delivery, discovered the umbilical cord had been “severed while still inside the mother’s uterus.”

“Investigators believe the evidence demonstrates that the death of the infant is directly related to the intentional severing of the umbilical cord,” Tyler said.

Now, I’m no OB/GYN, but it seems to me that cutting your own umbilical cord while the cord was still in the uterus would be… difficult. I mean, a hand-mirror isn’t going to be giving you the kind of access you need to that, right?

So my bullshit meter is going off big-time. Something is just not right — and given the trend of criminalizing women for endangering their fetuses, I can’t help but think this is more in the “punishing women” vein than “protecting fetuses.” Although, given the shady details surrounding the case, I could very well be wrong.

Anyone more familiar with the workings of umbilical cords have any insights?

Thanks to Lauren for the link.

39 thoughts on I don’t understand.

  2. I’m mystified. Wouldn’t the cervix have to be dilated enough to admit, at the least, some sort of blade (and wouldn’t you carve yourself up all to hell trying to get it through there)?

  5. ilyka- well, obviously that’s why she was bleeding when she got to the hospital.

    Well, yeah, but… she would have had to dilate her own cervix somehow, right? Unless she was already in labor… but either way should would have had to get the blade through her cervix and into her uterus, AND cut the cord. That seems awfully tricky. Plus it says that she went into the hospital Friday night and was released Sunday and then taken into custody. I have a hard time figuring out how you could get a blade through your cervix and into your uterus and cut your own umbilical cord and be released 24 hours later. I dunno. Like I said in the post, something is fishy.

  6. Someone else may have cut the umbilical cord in an attempted home abortion. Legal abortions may be available, but not necessarily affordable.

  7. There is a condition called umbilical cord prolapse, in which part of the cord prolapses out through an opened cervix. It can happen when a delivery is premature or the presentation is breech (feet first). But “severed while still in the uterus”? No, that makes no sense. Part of it would have had to have been out; otherwise it’s physically impossible. That meant she was probably having a premature delivery, and quite possibly didn’t know it. In any case, something does not smell right here, that’s for sure.

  9. Yeah, I read about the prolapse thing to… but like Meowser pointed out, the article said that the cord was severed in the uterus. With umbilical cord prolapse, that doesn’t sound like the case.

  10. It *sounds* like she was into her third trimester, and someone tried to do an at-home abortion for her.

    From briefly googling, the FL abortion statute is 390.0111, which is a third degree felony (mandatory < 5 yrs prison). Why they would charge her with manslaughter, regardless of what happened, I don’t understand. Oh wait, I do: Malice.

    Here’s a boingboing post on DIY abortions. Unfortunately the linked blog post is gone. I know there’s an actual guide that tells you how to scrape the uterine wall, etc. but I can’t find anything online. Apparently there’s something called Cytotec now.

  11. One usually cuts the cord with surgical scissors or the like, and i could easily imagine a surgical tool capable of cutting the cord with minimal damage (other than a blade.) Not to get too graphic, but you need to be thinking more of cable cutters or cigar cutters than scalpels. Those sorts of things obviously would be a lot less lethal to get into the cervix.

    But yeah, in any case my money’s on assistance. they probably charged her to try to get her to rat on the help. here’s hoping she’s got some decent counsel.

    Sort of brings to light the problem with abortion restrictions of ANY sort and is an excellent argument for unrestricted abortion rights. Like, what, no givesies backsies after 3 months term?

    I hate this shit.

  12. Specula are generally available at well-stocked sex shops, and wikipedia provides a virtual how-to for cervical dilation. Also, finding a crone in that part of Alabama with experience using laminaria, whether a local variant or from the gulf, should not be too difficult, although I would imagine the hospital would have found traces of that.

  13. As a midwife, I think this story is complete bullshit. The fact that the umbilical cord was broken was likely reason for the bleeding. Preterm rupture of the membranes is very often related to infection…esp when the bacteria colonization is high enough to weaken the bag.

    This same chance of infection can also weaken the umbilical cord. The cord and the bag of water are connected. Other causes of a weakened bag include smoking, diabetes. Poor nutrition, etc.

    Ten bucks says this woman is from a poor socioeconomic status. She is being wrongly accused of killing her baby…something we all should be pissed about.

  15. I agree with Pamela, they’re rushing to judgment on this woman, and that at the very least they should have waited for pathology reports — and demanded them — on the baby, the cord, the placenta and amniotic fluid before doing anything. It seems very very fishy to me.

  16. First of all, OMG Florence, AL is my hometown. Second, I am on my way over to The Well-Timed Period in the hopes that Ema has an expert opinion on this.

  18. I’m no midwife, but as a doula I gotta agree with Pamela. I’m trying to even imagine a woman able to reach inside herself to severe the cord, not to mention doing so during the excruciating pain that forced dilation brings.

  19. I’m an internist and haven’t delivered a baby since medical school but the process hasn’t changed any since then. Pamela is, of course, right. And I also said wtf? when I read this.

  21. The only way she could have willingly severed the umbilical cord by herself was is her arms were attached to her knees.

    this charge against her is bullshit. I read on another blog, I think it was Shakesville, that her boyfriend is not the father of the fetus in question and that he was the one who got her medical attention after waiting til the point that fetal death was imminent.

    Why the hell isn’t he being charged? basic common sense and anatomy classes people!

  25. Unless she was already in labor…

    Not only would it be tricky, as you said but… lemme tellya… based solely own my own experience, of course, I can’t imagine a woman being in labor and dilated enough to get something that far inside herself, and actually trying to do it, much less succeeding!

    No fucking way was anyone getting in there when my labor was that far along. The nurses had to fight me just to check the progress of the dilation. And that doesn’t even require getting past the cervix and inside the uterus, as this would seem to.

    On that particular day, mine was an exit only (and if I could have opted out of that, I would have)!

    I just ain’t buyin’ it.

  26. It sounds like she decided at seven months that she didn’t want the baby and couldn’t get a late-term abortion. My guess is her boyfriend did the procedure and then panicked when she was bleeding everywhere. The story says the cops have some physical evidence, which is probably the snips or whatever was used to sever the cord.

  27. Yeah, agreed Lottie. I almost kicked the nurse who put one finger inside me to check cervical dilation and when they broke my water I recall it being one of the single most painful things ever, despite being fully dilated at the time. I cannot possibly imagine trying to cut my own umbilical cord while in labor. This sounds really suspicious to me too.

  28. Anyway, I agree that it’s unlikely she did this herself for a wide range of physical reasons, especially if she was in labor. (And the idea of the boyfriend doing it is kinda horrifying. I wouldn’t want my significant other poking around me with a speculum and scissors, even if he had a better-than-average knowledge of those scary reproductive bits than the average man [which he doesn’t].)

    I’m curious, though, why is it criminal if she HAD done it herself, rather than go to an abortion provider? Duh, it’s because the fetus died, but what’s the dry legal explanation that distinguishes self-abortion from doctor-assisted?

  29. My first thought was, this is really terribly sad… then I read the whole story plus all the comments here and it got me thinking. Why ISN’T the boyfriend being charged ~ ? or if he is, why isn’t that mentioned? I really think there is something superfishy about this and I agree with the others here who have suggested this is quite probably the result of the draconian abortion laws in the south. ~ It sounds to me like they decided ~ or SHE decided ~ that the baby wasn’t such a good idea, couldn’t find a doctor, and decided to do it themselves. Information on how to cause preterm labor / dilation is pretty widespread these days (and it seems to be getting moreso as abortion laws become stricter, HMM wonder why ~ oops I digress) ~ and even without a speculum one can jerryrig a contraption to make this procedure possible. Why they would simply cut the cord though seems very odd to me; if what they wanted was an abortion, why cut the cord in utero and risk the mother bleeding to death?? I just don’t get it. I think there is WAY more to this story than they’re letting on…..

  30. Dan in Denver? women don’t just *decide* they don’t want a baby at 7 months – even if they *are* “feeling blue.”

    srsly.

  31. I believe that the difference is how far along she was? Alabama law only allows up to 19 weeks (the state law actually says that a fetus is viable at that point..hah) and Georgia only goes up to 24. So I guess that is why they are charging her with manslaughter?

    This story makes me incredibly sad. This makes two attempted at-home abortions in AL in 2 weeks that I have heard of. These women should be allowed safe abortions should they choose.

    I guarantee you she is going to be a pariah for the anti-choice sect, the second she goes on trial. This *IS* Alabama after all…considering the situation, and her social class…it’s all but guaranteed.

    Sometimes living here completely blows my mind.

  32. Jessica, I didn’t realize there were other at-home abortions that had been attempted recently ~ not that it should surprise me, but I feel more saddened and disappointed than before. 🙁

    Do you have a source for the other one that you could give me please?

  33. Jessica,
    I wonder if any of thefolks who wrote the law wants to pay for the education of these “viable” 19 week fetuses?

    Lottie,
    I feel you. I was in so much pain giving birth to my daughter, I actually threatened the doctor who was trying to check me b/c I thought he was going to break my water bag. It was such horrible pain, I said I’d kick him if he put anyting else inside me. I can’t immagine in my wildest dreams being able to reach inside myself and fish around for a cord with an instrument and cut it.

    This story is bullshit.

  34. Complete BS as written. The cop doesn’t know enough to understand medicalese. There is no opinion by an obstetrician. It is entirely possible that there ISN’T an ob serving the hospital out there in BassAckward, AL. Or even a competent nurse/midwife.

    A medical examiner’s report on the fetus and placenta / cord / membranes would clear up a lot.

  35. I’m still not understanding why she’s being charged with manslaughter, if the fetus was dead before it was delivered. I realise there may be penalties for procuring an illegal abortion, but surely that isn’t the same as manslaughter?

  36. Okay, the article says she was taken into custody on outstanding traffic tickets, meaning that they apparently didn’t have probable cause to arrest her for the supposed manslaughter charge. Otherwise, why would they need to arrest her on a warrant for unpaid tickets? She was then charged with manslaughter the following day. So, what transpired during that time? Is this when the police got the “several pieces of evidence” they claim to have? I find that strange. Why would they think it was necessary to take her into custody ASAP?

  37. i have been thinking about this woman for almost a week now; she just stays with me. yesterday, i read about how 10,000 bosnian women were tortured and systematically raped EVERY day for a year (also by female soldiers with bottles, how could they???!!)). any doubt why women should run the world? the jail is about a mile from my home as the crow flies. I wonder if they’d let me see her if i went down there? my guess is she is very alone right now. i’m a nyc transplant (my husband’s job) and all this seems like a fundamentalist nightmare to me. i mean, can this really happen in my country? my god, it’s scary. sorry to that one who said this is her hometown, i hate it here. everyone assumes because i am white, they can say “nigger” around me with impunity. there have been a few awkward moments when i pull out the pics of my godkids. (i hope i don’t have to expain that one). i’ve been looking for any statements explaining what she went through and i doubt the press is even asking. when she comes up for trial, i really want to be there. but i’m not sure i want to support this woman until i know what happened from her. i’ve met a number of people down here so shallow that, if the circumstances were correct, the cord being present and all,
    and that person was ticked off even a little bit, would do something like that just to hurt someone else. (not my most elegant sentence, but i’m rushing here) if it turns out she is being persecuted here, i’d be willing to put up a slumber party if folks wanted to support her during the trial. everyone i’ve met is so judgemental.

  38. well, i just found out she’s still there and i’m going down there tomorrow morn and see if i’m lucky enuf to be the one visitor she’s allowed a day. found out she does have a lawyer at this point, don’t know if he’s state referred or wht, will fill in when and if i find out anything. one thing’s for sure, the hospital that said she did this has one of the worst reputations in the country. i’ll drive to nashville or birmingham(2 1/2 hrs drive) before i go there. in addition to everything else, they have one of the worst rates of post-hospitalization infection in the country. what does that tell you?

  39. Well, I just got back from the jail and they’ve cancelled all visitation till further notice. I guess I’ll try this evening and then, next Thurs. (only 1 day a week for visitors; I’m not experienced with jails) In the meantime, I’m going to write her a letter of support & urge her not to plead guilty, as I’ve seen too many persons’ lives destroyed by court-appointeds. As women, we mustn’t let this go; it could come back on all of us and your children. The address down there and her name: Ms. Jennifer Darlene Johnson c/o Lauderdale County Detention Center 653 South Seminary St. – Florence, AL 35630 Since I don’t know anything yet, perhaps simply letters of support would be as well. I’m going to go on-line and write a letter to NARAL and see if there is anything legally we can do. I’ll keep you apprised; I’ve never gotten involved with anything like this before so I’m really flying by the seat of my pants in the face of opposition. Any helpful words out there . . .? I’d appreciate it.

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