She used abortion drugs to kill her baby. She told authorities the reason she did it was because she did not want her “significant other” to know that he was not the father of the child.
By Catholics for Catholics
A Kentucky judge dismissed a homicide charge against a woman who allegedly used abortion drugs to kill her baby, later burying the body of “a developed male infant” in a shallow grave on her property.
According to the Christian Post, the circuit judge dismissed the fetal homicide charge against Melinda Spencer, 35. She was indicted by a Wolf County grand jury on Tuesday, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
Prosecutors asked for the dismissal of the charge on the same day that the grand jury indicted Spencer on four charges: fetal homicide, concealing the birth of an infant, evidence tampering and abuse of a corpse. Though the homicide charge has been dismissed, the other three accusations remain,
The Post reported that Spencer’s next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 2. The dismissal of the fetal homicide charges reduced Spencer’s cash bond from $100,000 to $2,500.
The dismissal of the homicide charges against Spencer come despite Kentucky’s almost total ban on abortion, which went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
But Miranda King — the commonwealth’s attorney for Breathitt, Powell and Wolfe counties — cited a Kentucky statute that “prohibits the prosecution of a pregnant woman who caused the death of her unborn child,” before the dismissal of the homicide charge.
The Post reported that pregnant women in Kentucky are not prosecuted for having abortions, as the statute cited in King’s statement — KRS 507A.010(3): “Nothing in this chapter shall apply to any acts of a pregnant woman that caused the death of her unborn child.”
“I sought this job with the intention of being a pro-life prosecutor, but must do so within the boundaries allowed by the Kentucky State law I’m sworn to defend,” King stated. “I’m thankful for the investigative work of the Kentucky State Police on this case. I am also grateful to the dedicated citizens who served on the grand jury and thoroughly reviewed this case.”
Authorities arrested Spencer on Dec. 31, after a United Clinic in Campton called police to report that a woman had informed the staff that she had aborted her unborn child at her residence.
Spencer allegedly admitted that she ordered abortion drugs online to kill her baby before burying the remains on the backside of her property. Regarding the reason for the abortion, Spencer claimed that she didn’t want her significant other to know that he was not the father of her child.
Police discovered the remains of the baby near the 3700 block of Flat Mary Road. According to court documents cited by Fox 56, investigators uncovered a white grocery sack in the grave.
The baby’s remains were found within a white rag inside a light bulb box covered in Christmas wrapping paper, according to an arrest citation cited by Fox 56.
