Tennessee Woman Charged With First-Degree Murder for Attempted Self-Abortion

Anna Yocca is being accused of trying to end her pregnancy in September.

WTVF reports that authorities say the baby had damage to the lungs, eyes, and heart. Her boyfriend took her to Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital and she was transported to Saint Thomas Midtown.

Those statements eventually led to Yocca’s indictment on for attempted murder.

“The whole time she was concerned for her health, her safety and never gave any attention to the health and safety of the unborn child”, Sergeant Kyle Evans told NewsChannel5.

In September, Yocca, 31, allegedly took a coat hanger into the bath with her and tried to abort her own baby – but panicked after she began to bleed heavily, the Murfreesboro Post reported. She was being held at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center in lieu of $200,000 bond. Doctors later transferred Yocca to St. Thomas Mid-Town in Nashville where she could receive more extensive treatment, which is where the 1.5 lb. baby was saved.

“Tennessee’s homicide law explicitly doesn’t apply to [Yocca]”, explained Farah Diaz-Tello, senior staff attorney at the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, “but this arrest tells women that if they try to seek emergency medical assistance, they may end up behind bars”.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive health research group, Tennessee had 14 abortion providers in the state in 2011, including nine clinics.

“The Tennessee legislature is responsible for the coat hanger, however, Ms. Yocca is on trial and that is unacceptable”, Scott said in the press release.