By Mark Maynard
Kentucky Today
An eastern Kentucky woman has been charged after allegedly taking abortion medication and burying the infant, according to Kentucky State Police.
In a press release issued Thursday, KSP said United Clinic in Campton contacted authorities on Dec. 31 after a woman told staff she had terminated her pregnancy at her home.
State police later interviewed Melinda Spencer, 35, of Campton, who told detectives she had taken abortion medication she ordered online. The medication resulted in the death of a “developed male infant,” police said.
Spencer told investigators she buried the infant in a shallow grave behind her residence, according to KSP.
Troopers subsequently searched the property in the 3700 block of Flat Mary Road and located the infant’s body in the grave.
Kentucky law bans nearly all abortions.
The ban took effect in 2022 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Under state law, abortion is prohibited except when necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman.
Spencer was arrested and charged with first-degree fetal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence. She was lodged Thursday in the Three Forks Regional Jail.