California Attorney General Xavier Becerra condemned the murder charge of a woman whose pregnancy ended in a stillbirth in 2019.
Chelsea Becker has been in jail since she was arrested in November, with a bail set at $2 million. Her charge came as county prosecutors said the fetus died because of Becker’s use of methamphetamine while she was pregnant.
Becker, 26, challenged the murder charge in a petition that was denied by the Superior Court of Kings County earlier this summer.
Becerra wrote an amicus brief in support of Becker’s petition, saying the court’s interpretation of state law subjects “all women who suffer a pregnancy loss to the threat of criminal investigation and possible prosecution for murder.”
He added the petition to end all criminal proceedings against Becker should be granted.
Becerra’s stance mirrors several civil rights and reproductive health advocates who say Becker’s case could set a dangerous precedent for other pregnant women who lost their baby during pregnancy.
Becker delivered a stillborn baby at eight-and-a-half months into her pregnancy.
Police say the Kings County coroner’s office ruled the fetus’s death as a homicide because of toxic levels of methamphetamine in the fetus’s system. The office also said Becker admitted to law enforcement she used meth while pregnant as recently as three days before delivering the stillbirth.
California is among 38 states that have fetal homicide laws.
