California mother’s murder charge for fetal death is dropped

HANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Prosecutors in central California have dropped a murder charge against a woman in connection with the death of her unborn child through drug use. The Kings County district attorney’s office dropped the charge against Adora Perez on Monday. She pleaded no contest in 2018 to voluntary manslaughter to avoid a murder charge after giving birth to a stillborn child after using methamphetamine. In January, California’s attorney general said the fetal murder law was never intended to include pregnant women. In March, a judge overturned Perez’s voluntary manslaughter conviction and 11-year prison sentence and she was permitted to fight the original murder charge in court.