A Nevada woman who was sent to prison and branded a 'baby killer' after suffering a miscarriage has been awarded a life-changing $1.6 million settlement.
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who → send → settlement
Patience Rousseau, 34, was sentenced to up to eight years behind bars in 2019 after prosecutors accused her of intentionally ending her pregnancy.
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prosecutors → sentence → pregnancy
She was convicted under a state law established in 1911 that makes it illegal to take drugs or other substances to end a pregnancy after the 24th week.
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it → convict → week
Her conviction was later dismissed by a judge who described the case as a 'total miscarriage of justice.
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who → dismiss → justice
'
'They fought so much to avoid paying me,' said Rousseau.
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Rousseau → fight → me
'I went through so much and so did my children, who are still facing these issues.
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who → go → issues
Her attorneys submitted a demand letter to Humboldt County in March, alleging that the county had broken state law, violated Rousseau's state and federal constitutional rights and intentionally inflicted emotional distress on her, according to the Nevada Independent.
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county → submit → Independent
The settlement was finalized in early August, with roughly $1.2 million of the sum reserved for Rousseau, who now lives in South Dakota with her three sons.
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who → finalize → sons
Rousseau was 26 years old and living in Winnemucca in 2018 when she found out she was pregnant.
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she → live → 2018
Patience Rousseau, 34, was sentenced to up to eight years behind bars in 2019 after prosecutors accused her of intentionally causing herself to have a miscarriage
She was awarded a $1.6 million settlement Humboldt County in March, alleging that the county had broken state law, violated Rousseau's state and federal constitutional rights and intentionally inflicted emotional distress
She was unsure at the time how far along she was with the pregnancy and wanted an abortion.
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she → sentence → abortion
However, she had no means of transportation to reach Reno for an appointment, according to the outlet.
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she → have → outlet
In a desperate attempt to naturally end her pregnancy, she began consuming large amounts of cinnamon and lifting heavy objects, unproven methods she believed could cause a miscarriage.
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she → end → miscarriage
However, in April of that year, she delivered a stillborn child whom she named Abel and buried in her backyard.
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she → deliver → backyard
I'm sorry I'm a horrible person,' Rousseau wrote on Facebook shortly after.
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Rousseau → write → Facebook
In May, several officers arrived at her home, initially pointing to her ingestion of cinnamon as evidence that she had tried to cause the miscarriage.
Investigators also cited the fact that Rousseau had used methamphetamine, marijuana and cigarettes while pregnant.
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Rousseau → arrive → methamphetamine
Prosecutors argued she used drugs to induce her miscarriage and broke the state's more than century-old law.
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she → argue → law
She was arrested and charged with felony manslaughter.
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She → arrest → manslaughter
At the advice of her public defender, Rousseau pleaded guilty and entered prison in 2019, where she spent more than two years.
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she → plead → years
Prior to her sentencing, she detailed to the Washington Post how she was outcast in her town, noting how she lost friends and was harassed.
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she → detail → friends
Rousseau said the first time she tried going to the grocery store, a group of teenage boys chased her down the aisle yelling, 'baby killer.
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group → say → killer
'
Rousseau was living in Winnemucca in 2018 when she was arrested.
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she → live → 2018
She plead guilty and entered prison in 2019, at the advice of her lawyer
On June 28, 2021, a judge ruled that her conviction should be set aside based on ineffective assistance of counsel (Stock Image)
However, in 2021, her conviction was tossed after Laura FitzSimmons, Rousseau's new attorney, argued the prosecution could not prove Rousseau's drug use caused her miscarriage.
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use → plead → miscarriage
The medical examiner could also not determine what caused the miscarriage and found no evidence that the child was born alive.
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child → determine → evidence
The examiner estimated that Rousseau was between 28 and 32 weeks pregnant at the time of the miscarriage.
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Rousseau → estimate → miscarriage
Other experts later testified that it was impossible to determine what caused her to lose the pregnancy.
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her → testify → pregnancy
On June 28, 2021, a judge ruled that her conviction should be set aside based on ineffective assistance of counsel.
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conviction → rule → counsel
According to FitzSimmons, Rousseau is the only person who has ever been prosecuted under the 1911 abortion law, as per the Nevada Independent.
Humboldt County officials expressed interest in prosecuting her again, but in 2025, her attorney successfully had the charges dismissed with prejudice, preventing them from ever being brought again.
Rousseau, who now lives in South Dakota, told the outlet: 'I don't ever want to come back to Nevada again, or honestly ever see any of the people in Winnemucca again.
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I → accord → Winnemucca
They ruined it for me.'
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They → ruin → me
The Aporia
