Judge advances case against Rock Hill woman who gave birth after trying abortion
An emotional prosecutor told a Rock Hill judge Wednesday afternoon that a 20-year-old pregnant woman intended to kill her unborn daughter last month when she took an abortion pill before failing to help the child after she was born alive in a toilet.
Yet Jocelyn Byrum’s lawyer said in court York County prosecutors are seeking to convict her when South Carolina law makes a mother immune from prosecution for having an abortion.
Byrum is charged with attempted murder and unlawful conduct toward a child after the baby girl was born Nov. 12 prematurely at 27 weeks. The child remains in critical condition in a hospital. Byrum was in Rock Hill Municipal Court Wednesday as her defense lawyer asked for a hearing over whether police had probable cause to arrest her.
Judge Ray Long found there was probable cause for police to arrest Byrum about a week after the baby was born.
Prosecutor: Byrum knew what she was doing
Prosecutor Daniel Porter argued Byrum knew she was pregnant for months, “bamboozled” and “catfished” the child’s father for money for an abortion she did not have, then in November tried to end the pregnancy by taking the medication before the child survived birth in a toilet.
“She knew exactly what she was doing,” Porter said of Byrum’s actions.
Concerning the baby, Porter told Long: “That’s a human being. A human being this woman tried to kill.”
Byrum told her father she had a miscarriage before he called 911, but admitted to police she saw the baby moving after it was born. First responders were there for minutes before realizing the baby was alive and taking emergency medical actions, Rock Hill Police Department detective Tayler Englert said.
Porter told Judge Long emergency responders found a child, “laying in a toilet and a mom not doing anything about it.”
Both the baby and Byrum tested positive for THC, the ingredient found in marijuana, after birth, according to police and prosecutors. Byrum admitted using marijuana and alcohol while pregnant, police said.
Byrum also had done Internet searches about abortion up to days before the baby’s birth and had text message exchanges about abortion dating back to May, police and prosecutors said.
Yet the baby lived.
“This child was able to survive despite being left in a toilet by its own mother?” Porter asked Rock Hill Police Department Detective Tayler Englert.
Englert replied: “Yes.”
Porter said Byrum’s actions concerning the child are what the case is about.
“I’m gonna stand up for her if nobody else will,” Porter said of the baby girl. “Detective Englert is standing up for her. I’m standing up for her.”
Defense: SC law gives mothers “immunity from prosecution” for abortion
Byrum appeared in court but did not speak. Her lawyer, Zach Merritt of MLB Law firm, asked Judge Long to dismiss the charges because he argued mothers are immune from prosecution in South Carolina for abortion.
“What the solicitor’s office is trying to do here is say, well, you know, that’s not how we feel about it,” Merritt argued. “Just go around all that and call it attempted murder.”
He said police and prosecutors “peppered this warrant with acts that happened after the baby was born.”
Merritt also defended that Byrum did not take the baby out of the toilet herself — just as first responders did not for minutes — and questioned Byrum’s “intent” to commit any crime. Byrum, who had no medical training, was “panic-stricken” and “in shock” after the birth, Merritt argued.
Merritt questioned Englert at length about the emergency response after the birth, and then the decision to charge her with attempted murder concerning her actions both before the birth and afterward.
Englert said Byrum admitted to police taking the medication, then not rendering aid after the baby’s live birth.
“She neglected to tell officers or EMS that the child was alive and moving — that’s why we are here today,” Englert told Merritt.
What happens next?
Byrum has been jailed without bail since her arrest a month ago.
Wednesday’s ruling by the judge finding probable cause for the charges means prosecutors can now seek indictments against her. South Carolina law requires indictments for someone to face trial.
No trial date has been set.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the defendant’s last name.
This story was originally published December 18, 2025 at 8:00 AM.
