Woman Allegedly Botched Coat-Hanger Abortion — Charged With Attempted Murder
A Tennessee woman allegedly gave herself a coat-hanger abortion in a bathtub in her home, and now she’s been charged with attempted murder. Fox 17 News reports that Anna Yocca was arrested after she went to a hospital in Murfreesboro over excessive bleeding.
Police allege that Yocca filled a bathtub with water in her home, before sitting in it with a wire coat-hanger, which she used to attempt to end her pregnancy. When she couldn’t stop bleeding, she panicked, and her boyfriend took her to the hospital. Under care of doctors, she gave birth to a 1.5 lb. baby boy — who miraculously survived the entire ordeal. Even though the baby survived, he will presumably never live a normal life. A doctor has confirmed that the infant will live the rest of his life in need of total care. The baby did indeed suffer serious injuries associated with the attempted abortion.
This isn’t the first time a botched abortion has made headlines. Earlier this year an Italian couple launched a lawsuit against a hospital after a 43-year-old woman’s abortion failed. The Daily Mail reports that Elisa Bellandi survived the abortion her mother attempted, and 14 years later, she is a well-adjusted teen whom her parents adore. Nonetheless, the parents of the little girl are suing for damages that amount to nearly $1 million. Also this year, a woman learned she was 16 weeks pregnant even after having an abortion. It was a horrifying experience for the woman, who first suffered a broken condom incident, only to get a medical abortion, which was botched.
@JillFilipovic @SuperSpacedad @Tennessean You can’t stop abortion – you can only outlaw legal, safe abortion.
— gajillionth gamer (@StrivingAlly) December 12, 2015
@JillFilipovic heartbreaking. https://t.co/1BfEcTDEq2
— Sean McGowan (@seanpmcg) December 12, 2015
Think the days of coat hanger abortions are over? Think women won’t go to jail if abortion is outlawed? Think again. https://t.co/kIG0nX4sbw
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) December 12, 2015
This is what happens when abortion is illegal or hard to get. This is why I am pro-choice. https://t.co/RXEPFUPsIU
— Robert Cruickshank (@cruickshank) December 12, 2015
As for the Tennessee woman in this latest botched abortion story, it’s curious as to why she didn’t get a safe medical abortion. Abortion is legal in the state of Tennessee, though with a few restrictive guidelines. The woman would have to wait 48 hours after getting state-directed counseling. She hasn’t given a motive as to why she didn’t go through the legal hoops in order to abort her baby.
@JillFilipovic Sometimes I forget about this whole “private health care” thing you have in the states. My heart goes out to this woman.
— Madison Reid (@amelodyofspring) December 12, 2015
This happens when there is no other way! Woman charged with attempted murder in failed abortion – https://t.co/epRaZkNlzC #GoogleAlerts
— WRRAP (@WRRAP) December 12, 2015
On social media, people are expressing shock and disgust at what she had done, while others are arguing that this is a side-effect of restricting safe medical abortions. While this may or may not be true, it’s important to note that the woman was far enough along in her pregnancy that the newborn has survived and is living out of the womb. That means she may have been too far along to legally obtain an abortion. If she felt like she wouldn’t be granted the right to an abortion, she may have taken to drastic measures to terminate the pregnancy herself. As mentioned earlier, the woman has not shared any motive behind why she allegedly tried to terminate her pregnancy.
What do you think about this gruesome case out of Tennessee? Should she truly be charged with first-degree murder, or are the charges against her too harsh for something of which the details haven’t been clarified fully?
[Photo: Murfreesboro Police mugshot]
