Congressional Democrats tell Biden to do more on abortion after Ohio woman's arrest

Democratic members of Congress are urging the Biden administration to do more to protect pregnant patients seeking medical treatment from criminal prosecution - a threat they say has intensified in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's 2022 decision overturning decades of abortion-rights precedent.

The new letter, spearheaded by the Democratic Women's Caucus, references the case of Brittany Watts, an Ohio woman who faced felony charges after suffering a miscarriage last year.

Hospital officials called police after Watts came in seeking treatment for her pregnancy loss. Watts was investigated and initially charged with abuse of a corpse under state law. The letter notes that a grand jury ultimately declined to move forward with the case, but says "irreparable harm has already been done and we must ensure this never happens to anyone again."

The letter, signed by more than 150 members of Congress, calls on the Biden administration to use federal resources to investigate such cases, and to provide legal and financial support to patients facing the threat of criminal prosecution because of pregnancy outcomes. It also urges Biden administration officials including Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to investigate situations in which healthcare officials may have breached the privacy of pregnant patients.

Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, the DWC's White House liaison, said she was disturbed to see healthcare workers involved in reporting Watts.

"You don't get to pick up the phone, violate a person's HIPAA rights, and then say to this person, 'I'm consoling you with one hand and calling the police to have a person arrested on the other hand,'" Beatty said in an interview with NPR.

The letter describes Watts' experience