Pregnant US inmate in Florida prison claims her unborn child is ‘innocent’, seeks release

A pregnant woman, who has been imprisoned in Florida on the charge of murder, has been seeking herrelease on grounds that the unborn child in her womb is “innocent” and has been "held unlawfully”, said a lawyer.

"The child didn't have a seat at the table when the decision to incarcerate the mother was made," said lawyer William Norris. Natalia Harrell, who is 24 years old and about to become a mother, has been charged with murder after she shot another woman while trying to hire an Uber in Miami last July. At the time of arrest, Harrell was almost six weeks pregnant.

Harrell was carrying a gun in her purse and "feared for her life and that of her unborn child," as per the petition which was filed last week.

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The foetus "has not committed any crime" and still remains incarcerated in "deplorable conditions" and unless given relief will be "likely brought into this world on the concrete floor of the prison cell," states the petition. In the petition, it has also been argued that the mother was not given proper medical care by the authorities during her incarceration.

Lawyer Norris said the father-to-be hired him and the petition was filed on the behalf of the foetus. In the petition, it has been asserted that the "unborn child is a person".

In June 2022, a pregnant woman was held in Texas for driving in a high-occupancy carpool lane. The woman had argued that the court should count her unborn child as a second passenger.

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Her case was reported by international media outlets as it came just five days after the landmark decision by the US Supreme Court overturning the right to abortion which was enshrined in Roe v Wade, giving each state its independence to regulate.

Norris said that the petition he has filed for Harrell is "not a direct result" of Supreme Court ruling but is "a consequence of that”.

"It's interesting how society moves forward. People are starting to recognise that an unborn child is a person,” said Norris.

(With inputs from agencies)

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