A grisly discovery led to the arrest of a 20-year-old woman back in July when an infant was found dead. The Nevada woman, identified as the mother of the newborn, has been charged with the infant’s murder. She was indicted by a grand jury on Aug. 10, and was set to be arraigned as of Aug. 17.
According to the arrest report, the woman hid the fact she was pregnant from her mother, who had no idea she was pregnant. She told police she gave birth in a bathtub in their home. The mother reportedly called for emergency support when her daughter exited the bathroom bleeding.
When police arrived, they found the infant girl dead. The woman was arrested and charged with one count of murder. Her indictment has not been made public, but it has been confirmed that she is being held in Cook County Detention Center, and she has not been given the option of bail.
The stigma of such a young woman becoming pregnant can be an overwhelming weight on her head. While there are options available to young women in Nevada with unplanned pregnancies, including adoption and abortion, quite often parental pressure and social shame can lead them to eschew these options in favor of secrecy. In fact, Planned Parenthood estimate roughly half of the country’s pregnancies are unattended for this reason. This is why it will be very important for Nevada authorities to take into consideration the woman’s mental and emotional states when considering the murder conviction; if she was not capable of making healthy, informed decisions at the time of the birth, that charge could be decreased in court.
Source: lasvegasnow.com, “Local woman charged with the murder of newborn baby“, Nia Wong, Aug. 10, 2016
