#patrick warren

Jessica Valenti at Abortion, Every Day:

I am so relieved to be able to tell you that Georgia prosecutors have dropped all charges against Selena Chandler-Scott, the young woman arrested for how she disposed of her miscarriage. The 24-year-old, who was found unconscious and bleeding outside of her apartment complex, was charged with ‘concealing a death’ and ‘abandoning a dead body’ after placing her fetal remains in the trash. Today, Tift County District Attorney Patrick Warren announced: “After thorough examination of the facts and the law, my office has determined that continuing prosecution is not legally sustainable and not in the interest of justice.” Let’s be clear: These charges were dropped because Warren and his office were under intense public pressure and a growing national spotlight. Indeed, he seemed almost disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to punish the young woman, saying, “I do not condone the way the remains were handled, and I understand that her actions were distressing to many.” Her actions were distressing? He doesn’t “condone” how she handled her pregnancy loss? Come the fuck on. What’s worse, Warren left the door open to prosecuting Chandler-Scott again in the future. “If additional information or incriminating evidence becomes available,” he said, “my office may review this case again for prosecution.” Incriminating evidence of what, exactly? Warren’s office already cruelly sent out Chandler-Scott’s fetal remains for an ‘autopsy’, which confirmed her miscarriage happened naturally. And even if it hadn’t, Georgia law doesn’t allow for the prosecution of people who have abortions. There’s also no law in Georgia—or anywhere else—that dictates how someone is supposed to dispose of a miscarriage. Nor should there be! But that hasn’t stopped zealous prosecutors like Warren from targeting women anyway.

Just a few weeks ago, we found out that a teenager was being investigated in Pennsylvania for ‘abuse of a corpse’ after self-managing an abortion and burying the fetus in her backyard. Brittany Watts in Ohio was charged with ‘abuse of a corpse’ last year after she miscarried at home in the toilet. And not long ago, another Georgia woman was under investigation for how she handled her miscarriage.

[...] In part, it’s that Dobbs emboldened anti-abortion police and prosecutors. But the root cause—and a growing issue—is fetal personhood laws. After all, if an embryo or a fetus is a person, then law enforcement can argue that a woman who flushes or throws away her miscarriage is ‘concealing a death’ or ‘abusing a corpse.’ (Georgia’s 2019 abortion law grants personhood to fetuses once there’s cardiac activity.)

Under these laws, it doesn’t matter if someone is 9 weeks or 19 weeks into pregnancy. That’s why so-called ‘viability’ laws and language are so dangerous—even in pro-choice states, they allow police to investigate women for pregnancy loss if they believe they were past ‘viability.’ It’s important we don’t mistake these charges being dropped as a major win. Because so long as fetal personhood laws remain, these arrests can happen and again and again. Especially now, as Republicans push legislation to make pregnancy-related prosecutions more common: The same week Chandler-Scott was arrested, Georgia lawmakers were considering a bill that would allow abortion patients to be charged with murder. The goal of that legislation—and other ‘equal protection’ bills like it—is to give police the power to investigate any pregnancy outcome they deem suspect. And while I’m glad Chandler-Scott is free, it doesn’t mean she can return to her normal life. This young woman had her name and mugshot splashed across local crime pages. As Dana Sussman, senior vice president at Pregnancy Justice, tells me, “This doesn't undo the trauma she faced of being arrested after a tragic medical emergency.”

Song Review: Julian Lage - “Two and One” (Live, Jan. 20, 2024)

Julian Lage and band (t)eased their way into “Two and One,” repeatedly threatening to launch before pulling back.

This went on for some 80 seconds before the sauntering melody emerged Jan. 20 in San Francisco as documented on just-released professional video. Lage, on acoustic guitar, toggles between blues scales, classical ornamentation and jazzy improv as bassist Jorge Roeder, drummer Dave King and keyboardist Patrick Warren swing behind him.

He’s seated. But Lage is not sedate as he holds his axe perpendicular to the stage and frequently rises from his chair before handing off briefly to Roeder.

What begins with false starts concludes with false endings. And so, Lage and band threaten to cut off “Two and One” a few times before bringing the six-minute instrumental in for a smooth landing.

Grade card: Julian Lage - “Two and One” (Live - 1/20/24) - A

Half Moon Bay Cabin, Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia, Canada,

Jules Verne by Korey Dane