Fetal homicide charge against woman who aborted, buried her baby dismissed

A circuit judge dismissed a fetal homicide charge against a Kentucky woman indicted earlier this week after she allegedly used abortion drugs to cause the death of "a developed male infant” before burying the child in a shallow grave on her property. 

During a Wednesday hearing, the circuit judge dismissed the fetal homicide charge against Melinda Spencer, 35, who was indicted by a Wolf County grand jury on Tuesday, The Lexington Herald-Leader reports. 

Prosecutors requested 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. 

The three other charges remain, and Spencer’s next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 2. Dismissal of the fetal homicide charge lowered Spencer’s cash bond from $100,000 to $2,500, according to the newspaper.

In a statement this week announcing the dismissal of the fetal homicide charge, 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.” 

Kentucky has a near-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. 

Pregnant women in the state are not prosecuted for having abortions, as the statute cited in King’s statement — KRS 507A.010(3) — states: “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.” 

Spencer was arrested on Dec. 31 after a United Clinic in Campton contacted the police to report that a woman had informed the staff that she had aborted her unborn child at her residence. 

During an interview with investigators, Spencer reportedly admitted that she ordered abortion drugs online to end her child’s life 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. 

After obtaining a search warrant, authorities discovered the remains of Spencer’s child near the 3700 block of Flat Mary Road, just as Spencer had described. According to court documents cited by Fox 56, investigators uncovered a white grocery sack in the grave. 

The child’s remains were contained within a white rag inside a light bulb box covered in Christmas wrapping paper, according to an arrest citation cited by Fox 56.

King will prosecute the remaining charges against Spencer, which include “Abuse of a Corpse (Class D Felony), Tampering with Physical Evidence (Class D Felony) and Concealing the Birth of an Infant (Misdemeanor).”

Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders commented on the initial fetal homicide charge and indictment against Spencer, as WKYT reports on Tuesday. While Sanders is not connected to the Wolfe County indictments, he noted that, as a pregnant woman, Spencer would be exempt due to the state’s laws.

“I am not aware of any law in Kentucky that would criminalize the acts of a pregnant woman to terminate her pregnancy,” Sanders said. “If the legislature wants women who terminate their pregnancies to be prosecuted, they need to amend the law.”