Kentucky woman charged for illegal chemical abortion, abuse of fetal remains

A Kentucky woman was arrested and subsequently charged with fetal homicide after burying the remains of her chemically aborted baby in a Christmas-wrapped box in her backyard. 

Melinda Spencer, 35, took pills Dec. 26 to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, conceived in an affair and not with her boyfriend, according to the New York Post.

Spencer concealed the remains of a “developed male infant” in a white rag and placed them in a light bulb box, wrapped in Christmas paper, inside a white grocery sack, Kentucky affiliate Fox 56 News reported. Spencer buried this grocery sack in a “shallow grave” on the “backside of her property,” according to a Facebook statement from Kentucky State Police (KSP). She relayed her actions to United Clinics Dec. 30 and was arrested Dec. 31, according to the outlet. 

Kentucky State Police obtained a search warrant and found the buried remains at Spencer’s home on Flat Mary Road. The Wolfe County medical examiner completed an autopsy Friday and determined Spencer was at least 20-weeks pregnant at the time of the abortion, Zach Haney, public affairs officer for the Moorhead post of the KSP Department, told The Lion. 

Abortion is illegal in the state of Kentucky except in rare cases when a doctor may perform the procedure to save the mother’s life or prevent serious injury. The manufacture and distribution of abortion inducing drugs is also illegal in Kentucky, unless prescribed by a registered, qualified physician for the same circumstances, according to Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services. 

Spencer is being held at Three Forks Regional Jail and is charged with first-degree fetal homicide, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and first-degree promoting contraband, according to Fox 56 News. Her case was filed in Wolfe County, but the County Clerk’s office told The Lion case information is still being compiled.