Kentucky woman charged with fetal homicide after taking abortion medication
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky police charged Melinda Spencer after she allegedly aborted and buried a fetus.
- State police charged Spencer with fetal homicide, corpse abuse and evidence tampering.
- Kentucky’s 2022 abortion ban permits terminations only to save a pregnant woman’s life.
A Kentucky woman is facing criminal charges after she used medication to abort a “developed male infant,” according to the Kentucky State Police.
Melinda Spencer, 35, of Campton, was reported to police Wednesday, Dec. 31, after she told workers at United Clinic in Campton she had aborted her pregnancy at her home, according to a Jan. 1 news release from KSP.
State police said they interviewed Spencer, and she told detectives she ordered medication online to induce an abortion.
Spencer took the medication and buried the remains on her property in a shallow grave, state police said. Detectives searched her property near the 3700 block of Flat Mary Road and found the remains.
State police did not say how far along Spencer’s pregnancy was at the time she ended it. The police described the fetal remains as “developed.”
Kentucky law bans nearly all abortions.
The ban took effect in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. Kentucky’s law prohibits pregnancy terminations in all scenarios, except when a pregnant woman’s life is in danger.
Spencer is charged with first-degree fetal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence. She was booked into the Three Forks Regional Jail on Thursday, according to jail records.
State police are conducting a death investigation.
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published January 1, 2026 at 1:14 PM.
