Mother Charged With Murder After Home Birth in California Is 'Harbinger' of Post-Roe Reality
In November 2020, Kelsey Carpenter went into labor early and had a home birth that ended in the death of her newborn, Kiera. She chose to give birth at home because she feared her baby would be taken away due to her substance use; Carpenter had already lost custody of her first two children when they tested positive for drugs in the hospital. Following this tragedy, instead of being offered support services to grieve the loss of her baby, Carpenter was charged in 2021 with homicide and felony ch