Woman Attempts Self-Abortion, Is Charged With Attempted Murder

A Tennessee woman who attempted self-abortion six months into her pregnancy has been charged with attempted murder in the first degree.

According to the Murfreesboro Post, 31-year-old Anna Yocca tried to terminate her pregnancy with a coat hanger. Detective Tommy Roberts has been following the case since earlier in the fall and obtained “an indictment on the charge” last Wednesday. From the Murfreesboro Post:

“Roberts began investigating the case in September when evidence showed Yocca went to her upstairs bathroom, filled the tub with water, got in and tried to ‘self-abort’ her pregnancy using a coat hanger, the report shows.

She became ‘alarmed and concerned for her safety when she saw a great deal of blood in the tub, and her boyfriend took her to St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital emergency room. From there, she was transported to St. Thomas Mid-Town in Nashville where staff members saved ‘Baby Yocca,’ the report shows.”

Although the baby boy survived, he only weighed 1.5 pounds at delivery and his “quality of life ‘will be forever harmed.’ He will need a medically-experienced foster parent, remain on oxygen and take medication daily because of problems with his eyes, lungs, and heart stemming from damage caused by the coat hanger.” He will likely encounter additional medical problems as he grows older.

Roberts tells the Post that according to the nurses and doctors he interviewed, Yocca had voiced a desire to terminate her pregnancy with a coat hanger when she was 24 weeks pregnant. She allegedly made other “disturbing statements” regarding the fetus.

Yocca has been incarcerated with bail set at $200,000.

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