AKRON, Ohio -

Attorneys for Mercy Health and several St. Joseph Hospital employees argue that their decision to involve law enforcement following a patient's miscarriage was legally required and supported by a local judge’s earlier findings.

 

The filing is the latest development in a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by Brittany Watts, a Warren woman who was criminally charged in 2023 after miscarrying at her home.

 

Watts alleges that hospital staff at St. Joseph Warren Hospital violated her privacy and conspired with police to have her arrested. In the 20-page response, the hospital's legal team maintained that their actions were protected by law and were necessary to ensure the fetal remains were properly handled.

 

The hospital defendants—including nurses, risk management staff, and a hospital police officer—asked Chief U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi to dismiss the case before it reaches a trial. Their defense argues that Ohio law required them to report the death because it involved a fetus of at least 20 weeks' gestation, and they noted that a fetal death certificate must be issued and an autopsy performed in such cases.

 

Attorneys also highlighted that a Warren Municipal Court judge had independently determined there was probable cause to believe a crime had been committed, arguing they cannot be held liable for malicious prosecution when a judge agreed that the evidence justified the initial charge.

 

Furthermore, the hospital staff argued they were private employees and were not acting as government agents, a necessary distinction since federal civil rights claims usually require showing the defendants acted "under color of law". The defense also claimed they are immune from being sued because they acted in good faith to help police locate the remains and did not violate any clearly established rights.

 

The case stems from an incident in September 2023 when Watts, then nearly 22 weeks pregnant, miscarried into a toilet at her home. The hospital's filing stated that Watts told staff she had flushed the remains and attempted to use a plunger to clear the toilet.

 

The defense wrote that simply telling the police that a fully formed baby was somewhere in the house could not impose liability on the hospital, as their only role was to start a process that allowed the remains to be found.

 

Watts’ lawsuit paints a different picture, alleging she was treated with "deliberate indifference" and that staff fabricated evidence to make her miscarriage look like a crime. While a grand jury eventually declined to indict Watts on the felony charge of abuse of a corpse, her lawsuit seeks damages for the emotional distress and public humiliation caused by the arrest.

 

The latest filing was a reply in support of the hospital's motion for judgment on the pleadings, which asks the judge to decide the case based only on the initial legal documents rather than waiting for a full trial.

 

If Judge Lioi grants the motion, the claims against Mercy Health and its employees would be dismissed. If she denies it, the case will continue toward a potential trial next year.