A 27-year-old Alabama woman was indicted on manslaughter charges Wednesday in the loss of her pregnancy, even though, police say, another woman pulled the trigger, The Washington Post reports. The moment quickly became a flash point in the broader debate over abortion, particularly in Alabama, and raised questions over how fairly manslaughter charges can be applied in the state.
Marshae Jones of Birmingham was five months pregnant on Dec. 4 when an argument broke out between her and another woman outside a Dollar General, AL.com reported. The fight, which police said was over the fetus’s father, led 23-year-old Ebony Jemison to shoot Jones in the stomach. Jones survived the shooting, but it resulted in a miscarriage. Jemison was charged with manslaughter, but a grand jury failed to indict her, and the charge was dismissed, according to AL.com. At the time, police alleged that Jones started the argument and that Jemison shot Jones in self-defense. But on Wednesday, a grand jury indicted Jones on a manslaughter charge, AL.com reported. She was being held Thursday on a $50,000 at the Jefferson County Jail, records show. It is not clear whether Jones has an attorney.