Woman Jailed Over 2 Years After Facebook Post About Her Stillbirth, Experts Warn of Growing Pattern

A Nevada woman spent two years in prison after posting on Facebook about a stillbirth, a case that has raised broader questions about how pregnancy loss cases are prosecuted under state laws even where abortion is legal.

Patience Rousseau, a 26-year-old Nevada woman and single mother of two, was struggling with an unplanned pregnancy in 2018 and later experienced a stillbirth, according to her attorney. She later made a Facebook post expressing grief over the loss.

Authorities with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office questioned Patience Rousseau in May 2018 about a Facebook post she made. The post mentioned the name she had decided on for her unborn child. The post read, “I’m so sorry, Abel.”

“Why would you be sorry? Why would you be sorry, Patience?” a deputy asked Rousseau while questioning her.

Rousseau was shocked and in despair while the deputies were questioning her as several law enforcement officers, some in tactical gear, stood outside her residence in rural Winnemucca, home to serve a search warrant.

“I had a miscarriage, Ok? A miscarriage. Why are you guys here over a f*** miscarriage?” Rousseau responded to the deputies. While the authorities were questioning her, she told the police that she had been taking large quantities of cinnamon and lifting heavy things while pregnant “to have a miscarriage.”

Investigators recovered remains from a marked grave site behind the residence, according to police reports and body camera footage.

Rousseau was arrested and charged with felony manslaughter and concealing birth. She was later convicted under a Nevada statute that legal experts say is broadly written and can apply to actions taken during pregnancy with the intent to end it.

Legal advocates say the case reflects a growing trend of criminal investigations involving pregnancy loss, including miscarriages and stillbirths, even in states where abortion is legal. Karen Thompson, legal director of the nonprofit Pregnancy Justice, said, “There has been a really dedicated effort to criminalize pregnancy outcomes alongside abortion.”