A pregnant prisoner being held prior to her murder trial has argued that her unborn child is being unlawfully detained.
As reported by The Mirror, 24-year-old Florida woman Natalia Harrell is currently facing trial for the fatal shooting of 28-year-old mom-of-three Gladys Yvette Borcela.
Borcela was killed last summer after she and Harrell got into a heated argument in an Uber taxi. Borcela was then fatally shot by Harrell, who was six weeks pregnant at the time.
She has since pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, and claimed to have acted in self-defense "in fear of her life and the life of her unborn child".
Now, as the mom-to-be awaits her murder trial at the Miami-Dade Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, her attorney, William Norris, is arguing that the unborn child's rights are being infringed upon and it is being unlawfully detained.
Norris has since launched an emergency petition after believing that the unborn child has a "lack of reasonable and necessary prenatal care". He adds that Harrell has not had an OB-GYN appointment since October and nobody has determined when the child is expected to be born.
Harrell's "unborn child is a person as defined under the Florida Constitution and United States Constitution", Norris writes in a legal submission.
Speaking to The Washington Post, the attorney added: "An unborn child has rights independent of its mother, even though it’s still in the womb. The unborn child has been deprived of due process of law in this incarceration. You simply have to have the unborn child as a factor in the equation."
In an official filing, Norris - addressing the baby as "UNBORN CHILD" - writes: "UNBORN CHILD will be likely brought into this world on the concrete floor of the prison cell, without the aid of qualified medical physicians and paramedics, and in the presence of violent criminals.
"The State has placed the UNBORN CHILD in such inherently dangerous environment by placing the UNBORN CHILD in close proximity to violent criminal offenders."
Harrell has also previously argued that she should be released due to the fact that her "unborn child is innocent", per The Mirror.
In response, officials for Miami-Dade Corrections have stated that all inmates in its custody are provided with necessary healthcare in partnership with the Jackson Health System.
The father of the unborn child, Michael O'Brien, has also told NBC Miami that he has frown concerned for the his baby's wellbeing, saying: "I don't want the baby to be born prematurely or low birth weight. The conditions are terrible and I feel she's not getting the pre-natal care she should be getting."
Borcela's mom, Yvette Rivera, has since stated on Facebook that Harrell is attempting to "get a Get Out Of Jail Free card".
This is not the first time the parent of an unborn child has argued that their fetus should be granted the same rights as everybody else following the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
Last summer, a pregnant Texas mom challenged a $275 ticket after she was fined for driving in the HOV lane.
By law, in order to be legally accepted in the lanes, at least one passenger must be in the car accompanying the driver.
Despite being 34 weeks pregnant at the time of the stop, the officer told her that her unborn child did not count as another passenger, but she argued that their unborn baby should have been treated as a "living child".
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