Resolved CA - Fetus, 1st/2nd trimester, Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant, Camarillo, 6 Apr 2019

[cybervampira]

Remains of fetus found at wastewater treatment plant in southern California | Daily Mail Online

A fetus was found at a wastewater treatment plant in California on Saturday morning

Police received a 911 call at about 8.45am from the Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant in Camarillo, reported KABC 7.

When officers arrived on the scene, they were told that one of the plant's workers had found the fetus.

According to KVTA, the fetus was not full-term, and appears to have been in its first or second trimester.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department said the fetus was found in a 'dry holding area', which means it was not in water.

A spokesperson told the radio station that the only way the fetus could have been found where it was is if it traveled through the sewer system.

Sheriff's Office's Major Crimes division investigators and the Ventura County Medical Examiner probed the area.

An autopsy of the fetus is expected to be conducted next week.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Just reading this makes my stomach hurt.

How could someone be this cold, and callous?

Imo

 

[Podengo]

I’m sort of ignorant in this department but from what I just read with abortion pill you take it at your convenience in your own home. If this is the case wouldn’t whatever is expelled usually end up in the toilet? I don’t mean to be harsh but would a person be expected to find a fetus in what is expelled from the uterus and give it a proper burial? If it is first trimester wouldn’t it be quite small? At 14 weeks a fetus is 3.5” in size.

 

[Tssiemer]

I thought you could only take the abortion pill within like 6 weeks or something.

 

[Tssiemer]

Upon research it’s 10 weeks.

 

[Tssiemer]

I’ve never had the abortion pill but I have had early miscarriages. I guess if I had been on the toilet, yeah, it would end up there. I guess I was “lucky” it was all “contained”.

 

[Inthedetails]

Upon research it’s 10 weeks.

Just googled sized of fetus at 10 weeks: size of a strawberry. 10 Weeks Pregnant - Pregnancy Week-by-Week

I think the fetus was likely further along than the 10-week cut-off for an abortion pill.

jmo

 

[reasonableguess]

My bff sadly had a miscarriage and flushed everything in her grief without realizing it.

 

[WhimsicalWillow]

I hope this doesn't turn political however, it's important to keep in mind that we don't know how the fetus was expelled. It's likely that someone could have had a miscarriage. People handle grief differently. It's possible someone flushed it ASAP out of shock. In any event, it must have been disturbing and very sad to see.

First trimester and/or second trimester sounds very early to me. As we know, the law doesn't prosecute those who expel a fetus within this window. Anyway, I feel sorry for whoever found the fetus as it's quite traumatic to witness.

 

[LarkBunting]

My bff sadly had a miscarriage and flushed everything in her grief without realizing it.

Agreed. I have sadly had several first trimester losses & can see how a woman could accidentally flush (unknowingly, if hidden by blood, etc.), or even semi-purposely flush (in her upset or grief) the remains, if they happened to come out while she was sitting on the toilet.

This is sad, but it sounds like they are looking for a woman who had a miscarriage - assumingely of a fetus much too young to survive at all outside the womb. (Or, crappy reporting, if not.)

 

[Inthedetails]

My bff sadly had a miscarriage and flushed everything in her grief without realizing it.

Unless we find out differently, I have a feeling it was a miscarriage that happened at home on the toilet.

 

[WhimsicalWillow]

If this was an abortion, it likely would have been performed by a doctor at a clinic via D&C, which is the protocol for abortions late in the 1st trimester/early in the 2nd trimester.

For miscarriages early in the 2nd trimester, D&C is also given as an option for women that are informed the fetus passed in utero but are also told they can go home and let the fetus pass naturally within a certain amount of time.

I believe this was a miscarriage.

An autopsy will reveal whether or not the fetus was viable, whether it had taken its first breath, and whether or not it was the result of a spontaneous abortion (meaning miscarriage).

 

[wistful]

I agree with the others who said it was likely flushed after a miscarriage, and they are so very common. It's too bad that this has police involvement and made the news. The situation sounds as private as private can be.

 

[Gardenista]

How could the baby be in a dry area if it went thru the sewage system?

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

I always wondered about the listing of fetuses that were almost certain miscarriages. I figured it out. It depends on the State's miscarriage burial laws. I also found that some states have a law that requires you to notify the county coroner and law enforcement if you find any human remains (which clears up why LE was involved). Regarding that, being a likely miscarriage there should be a privacy law in this matter IMO. Mainly for the reason that I hope the person who miscarried doesn't ever come across this. Can you imagine?

 

[LarkBunting]

I’ve been thinking about this. So, pregnancy is 40 weeks, meaning each trimester is 13.3 weeks long. The reports say the fetus was first or second trimester, which leads me to believe it must have been around late first tri to early second tri. If we assume this means maybe 12 to 14 weeks, there’s zero chance the fetus was viable outside of the womb.
One of my first trimester miscarriages happened on the toilet. I went in and fished out the remains because I felt compelled to bury them. However, not every mother would do the same, some might be horrified & want to flush everything away, some may flush just out of routine, since we’re all so accustomed to flushing after being on the toilet.
This poor mother. I hope she doesn’t see this news coverage because something like this would’ve certainly compounded my grief at losing my baby.

 

[MsFacetious]

Why is this in the news?
Is there a crime being investigated?
Are they just worried about the woman's health?
I don't understand.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Sadly, the automatic flush toilets could quickly swish away uterine contents before the mother would be able to respond. As others noted, some mothers simply can’t bear to retrieve the contents in their home toilet and flush. I hope the mother was receiving follow up prenatal care.

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

The last part of the article is telling:

"And last month, a fetus found in a grinder at Augusta's Wastewater Treatment Plant in Georgia.

The mother claimed that staff at University Hospital - about 6.5 miles away - flushed the remains of the 16-week-old miscarried fetus down the toilet.

She has since filed a lawsuit against the hospital for $2million in damages, according to WRDW."

The poor mother!

This case reminds me of something I saw on the Doe Network resolved section. In 2017 Minnesota closed 7 fetus/infant cases with little information available. Not 'identified' but 'closed'. If it's a miscarriage I don't see why it should be featured anyways. The grieving mother should never have to stumble on it like the woman above did.

 

[TTF14]

The last part of the article is telling:

"And last month, a fetus found in a grinder at Augusta's Wastewater Treatment Plant in Georgia.

The mother claimed that staff at University Hospital - about 6.5 miles away - flushed the remains of the 16-week-old miscarried fetus down the toilet.

She has since filed a lawsuit against the hospital for $2million in damages, according to WRDW."

Hadn't thought of something like this. Makes sense, then, why they are investigating.