A mother in Alabama has been charged over the death of her baby after getting into an altercation while she was five months pregnant.

Marshae Jones, 27, was shot in the stomach by 23-year-old Ebony Jemison and lost her baby in the process, but since police believe that Jones was the party at fault in the altercation, she was reportedly taken into custody on Wednesday, after a grand jury in Jefferson County handed down an indictment.

AL.com reports that Jones was charged with manslaughter, but while Jemison was also charged with manslaughter, the shooter had the charges against her dropped after the grand jury failed to indict her. The incident reportedly took place in early December last year, as the fight broke out over what appeared to be the father of Jones' baby.

"The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby," said Pleasant Grove police Lt. Danny Reid said to AL.com at the time of the shooting.

"It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby. [...]

"Let’s not lose sight that the unborn baby is the victim here. She had no choice in being brought unnecessarily into a fight where she was relying on her mother for protection."

The incident has taken on new meaning in the wake of Alabama's controversial abortion law, where many women's rights activists are outraged over what they see to be the absurdity of the law in action. The Yellowhammer Fund, part of the National Network of Abortion Funds, released a statement via Executive Director Amanda Reyes:

"The state of Alabama has proven yet again that the moment a person becomes pregnant their sole responsibility is to produce a live, healthy baby and that it considers any action a pregnant person takes that might impede in that live birth to be a criminal act. 

"Today, Marshae Jones is being charged with manslaughter for being pregnant and getting shot while engaging in an altercation with a person who had a gun. Tomorrow, it will be another black woman, maybe for having a drink while pregnant. And after that, another, for not obtaining adequate prenatal care."

"We commit ourselves to making sure that Marshae is released from jail on bond, assisting with her legal representation, and working to ensure that she gets justice for the multiple attacks that she has endured," added Reyes in her statement.

A mother in Alabama has been charged over the death of her baby after getting into an altercation while she was five months pregnant.

Marshae Jones, 27, was shot in the stomach by 23-year-old Ebony Jemison and lost her baby in the process, but since police believe that Jones was the party at fault in the altercation, she was reportedly taken into custody on Wednesday, after a grand jury in Jefferson County handed down an indictment.

AL.com reports that Jones was charged with manslaughter, but while Jemison was also charged with manslaughter, the shooter had the charges against her dropped after the grand jury failed to indict her. The incident reportedly took place in early December last year, as the fight broke out over what appeared to be the father of Jones' baby.

"The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby," said Pleasant Grove police Lt. Danny Reid said to AL.com at the time of the shooting.

"It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby. [...]

"Let’s not lose sight that the unborn baby is the victim here. She had no choice in being brought unnecessarily into a fight where she was relying on her mother for protection."

The incident has taken on new meaning in the wake of Alabama's controversial abortion law, where many women's rights activists are outraged over what they see to be the absurdity of the law in action. The Yellowhammer Fund, part of the National Network of Abortion Funds, released a statement via Executive Director Amanda Reyes:

"The state of Alabama has proven yet again that the moment a person becomes pregnant their sole responsibility is to produce a live, healthy baby and that it considers any action a pregnant person takes that might impede in that live birth to be a criminal act. 

"Today, Marshae Jones is being charged with manslaughter for being pregnant and getting shot while engaging in an altercation with a person who had a gun. Tomorrow, it will be another black woman, maybe for having a drink while pregnant. And after that, another, for not obtaining adequate prenatal care."

"We commit ourselves to making sure that Marshae is released from jail on bond, assisting with her legal representation, and working to ensure that she gets justice for the multiple attacks that she has endured," added Reyes in her statement.