Murder charge dropped for California woman who gave birth to stillborn baby after drug use while pregnant
A California woman who used meth while she was pregnant before delivering a stillborn baby had her murder charge dropped Monday.
Adora Perez was charged with murder after delivering a stillborn baby at Adventist Health Hanford on Dec. 30, 2017, then pleaded down to voluntary manslaughter in 2018 and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Her prison sentence was overturned in March when Kings County Superior Court Judge Valerie Chrissakis ruled that the plea deal was unlawful after “all parties admit(ed) that voluntary manslaughter of a fetus is not a crime in California.”
California’s murder law was updated in 1970 to include the death of a fetus, but was intended to criminalize violence against a pregnant mother causing death, not the mother’s own actions.
Perez was moved from prison to the Kings County jail and the murder charge was reinstated so she could argue her case in court.
On Monday, the Kings County District Attorney’s Office dropped the murder charge.
“With reproductive rights under attack across the nation, the dismissal of the murder charge against Adora Perez is a victory for justice and the rule of law,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
“Suffering a miscarriage or a stillbirth can be deeply personal and traumatic. We owe it to all Californians to ensure the pain of loss is not compounded by violation of privacy and unjust prosecution. California law is clear: We do not criminalize people for the loss of a pregnancy. My office will continue to stand up for the rights of pregnant people in California and beyond.”
The National Advocates for Pregnant Women celebrated the decision, but also cautioned about the overreach of the charges in the first place.
“Ms. Perez spent over four years of her life in prison as a result of a case that should never have been brought,” her lawyers, Mary McNamara and Audrey Barron, said in a statement.
“As the Attorney General has repeatedly stated on the record in this case, existing California law does not permit prosecuting women for pregnancy loss, no matter the cause. On top of that, the DA failed to produce any expert to support his claim that Ms. Perez’s drug use caused the stillbirth. It was an appalling overreach and a frightening exercise of prosecutorial power. We are relieved for Ms. Perez, who can now work on healing and moving forward with her life.”
