Woman learns her fate after miscarriage and labeled a ‘baby killer.’ She wins $1.6M and meets with child’s ashes after 8 years
Eight years, a prison sentence, and a mother's grief—some losses come at a price no settlement can repay
A Nevada woman lost her baby, spent more than two years in prison, and was branded a “baby killer” after a miscarriage. Eight years later, Patience Rousseau has won a $1.6 million settlement. The money cannot return the years she spent fighting a conviction.
Rousseau was prosecuted under a law dating to 1911, after investigators treated her drug use during pregnancy as evidence of an intentional abortion. According to People, her conviction was overturned in 2021, but the charges remained unresolved until 2025.
Now 34, Rousseau has also received the ashes of her son, Abel, which had remained with a deputy involved in her arrest. Her experience comes amid ongoing scrutiny of criminal cases involving miscarriages across the country.
It all started with a Facebook post
In April 2018, Rousseau, then known as Patience Frazier, delivered a stillborn baby she named Abel. She buried his remains in the yard of her Winnemucca home, where she lived with a man and her two sons. Grieving, she posted an apology on Facebook.
“I’m so sorry, Abel. I’m sorry I’m a horrible person,” she wrote. Court records also quoted her saying she was “so scarred n afraid” and did not know what to do. Deputies soon arrived at her home, questioning why she had apologized.
Body-camera footage obtained by The Washington Post captured Rousseau’s anger. “I had a miscarriage, okay? A miscarriage. Why are you guys here over a f—ing miscarriage?” she demanded, challenging officers’ interest in her private loss.
When Rousseau learned she was pregnant, she did not know how far along she was. Her periods were irregular, she had not visited a doctor, and a broken-down car prevented her from traveling for an abortion.
After researching ways to end a pregnancy online, she lifted heavy objects and repeatedly consumed cinnamon. Investigators tried to connect those actions to the miscarriage but could not establish that they caused it.
Instead, prosecutors focused on methamphetamine, marijuana, and cigarettes she had used during pregnancy. They argued that this demonstrated intent to cause a miscarriage, relying on a 1911 Nevada statute titled “taking drugs to terminate pregnancy,” which prohibits taking drugs to end a pregnancy after 24 weeks.
The law, described as unique in the United States, has faced repeal efforts from abortion-rights advocates. Attorney Laura FitzSimmons said Rousseau was the only person ever prosecuted under it.
In 2019, Rousseau pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the advice of her public defender and went to prison. She served more than two years, while the community’s “baby killer” label compounded the fallout from her loss.
FitzSimmons later represented Rousseau pro bono and challenged the conviction. She argued that Rousseau’s substance use was an established habit, not proof that she had taken drugs to terminate the pregnancy. Prosecutors also had not demonstrated that the substances caused Abel’s death.
A court overturned the conviction in 2021 because of ineffective assistance of counsel. Rousseau subsequently moved to South Dakota, but the prosecution did not permanently end until 2025, when the charges were dismissed with prejudice, preventing them from being refiled. Her case highlighted the risks of criminalizing pregnancy loss.
In 2026, Humboldt County agreed to pay Rousseau $1.6 million, marking a major development in her years-long legal battle. The settlement also included the return of Abel’s ashes, which had remained in the possession of one of the deputies who arrested her.
Rousseau now lives in South Dakota with three of her children and is sober. She plans to use part of the settlement money to pay for her home and open a store after legal fees and other expenses. However, she believes the outcome is “not fair,” as she and her children continue to struggle with the effects of what happened.
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