Melinda Spencer should not be behind bars for ending a pregnancy. But right now, this 35-year-old Kentucky woman is sitting in jail, facing multiple felony charges—including “abuse of a corpse” and “tampering with evidence”—after taking abortion pills at home.

Melinda was originally charged with fetal homicide, a capital offense that could have carried the death penalty. That charge was so clearly unlawful, even the local prosecutor admitted it had no legal basis and moved to dismiss it. But now, despite acknowledging the limits of Kentucky law, the same prosecutor plans to move forward with the remaining charges.

This is a dangerous and unacceptable overreach.

Melinda was criminalized not just for having an abortion, but for seeking follow-up care—the very thing medical experts recommend after a self-managed abortion. Instead of receiving compassion or support, she was reported by clinic staff, arrested, and held on a $100,000 bond.

Kentucky’s abortion ban primarily targets providers, not patients. But cases like this show how easily these laws can still be twisted to punish people who are already in crisis. Charging someone with crimes for how they handled a miscarriage or abortion doesn’t protect life—it terrorizes people who are already suffering and afraid.

If these charges stand, they will send a chilling message to anyone who needs reproductive care: stay silent, or risk prosecution.

We call on Wolfe County Commonwealth’s Attorney Miranda King to drop all remaining charges against Melinda Spencer immediately. Prosecuting people for abortion is a direct attack on bodily autonomy and human dignity. Melinda doesn’t need prison—she needs privacy, care, and the freedom to make decisions about her own body without fear.

Sign this petition to demand justice for Melinda Spencer—and to send a message that reproductive health care is not a crime.