Public Safety · Nevada
Humboldt County pays $1.6 million to woman imprisoned under Nevada's 1911 abortion law after a miscarriage
A rural Nevada county paid $1.6 million to Patience Rousseau, who spent more than two years in prison after a 2018 miscarriage. Her case drew attention to a 1911 state law that is still on the books.
Listen to this brief · 5 min
Read aloud by an AI voice from the text below. Download MP3
What happened
Humboldt County has paid $1.6 million to settle claims from Patience Rousseau, a woman convicted of manslaughter after a 2018 miscarriage in Winnemucca, The Nevada Independent reported. She served a little more than two years in prison before her conviction was vacated in 2021. The settlement was finalized in early August, and the money arrived last week, according to the outlet.
Rousseau's lawyers sent the county a demand letter in March. They argued the county broke state law, violated her rights under the state and federal constitutions and intentionally inflicted emotional distress. Her Las Vegas-based attorney, Paola Armeni, told the Independent that agreeing to settle does not mean the county admits wrongdoing.
Where the money goes
An insurance pool paid the claim
The Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool, which provides liability coverage to a number of rural counties, paid the settlement and represented Humboldt County during mediation, the Independent reported. The pool did not immediately respond to the outlet's request for comment.
How the $1.6 million is divided
About $1.2 million is set aside for Rousseau, who now lives in South Dakota with three sons. The rest covers legal fees and repays the state of Nevada for a $100,000 settlement it gave her in February. Under the agreement, the ashes of her infant's remains were also returned to her, after a 2024 Washington Post story reported that one of the deputies who arrested her had come into possession of them.
Rousseau told the Independent the payment was welcome but did not make up for years of trauma, and she wished the county had paid more. "They fought so much to avoid paying me," she said.
How the case began
A charge under a 1911 law
Rousseau was 26 when she miscarried in April 2018. About a month later, she was arrested and charged with felony manslaughter under a 1911 Nevada law that makes it manslaughter for a woman to take drugs with the intent of ending a pregnancy past 24 weeks. Investigators argued that her use of methamphetamines, marijuana and cigarettes while pregnant was meant to cause a miscarriage, the Independent reported.
On her public defender's advice, she pleaded guilty and entered prison in 2019. Carson City attorney Laura FitzSimmons, who has represented her since 2020, argued the prosecution could not show drug use caused the miscarriage, pointing to the county medical examiner's testimony that the cause of death could not be determined. She also argued the drug use was a longstanding habit and that Rousseau did not know how far along she was.
Conviction vacated, then charges dismissed
The conviction was vacated in 2021 for ineffective assistance of counsel. County officials expressed interest in prosecuting her again, but in 2025 the charges were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they can never be brought again. Humboldt County District Attorney Kevin Pasquale, who prosecuted the case, replied to an email from the Independent by asking, "What settlement is she talking about?" and did not answer a follow-up request.
Why the law matters statewide
According to FitzSimmons, Rousseau is the only person ever charged under the 1911 statute. Farah Diaz-Tello, legal director at the reproductive law organization If/When/How, previously told the Independent that Nevada is "the only state where it is a felony to have an abortion."
A bill to repeal the law died without a hearing in the Democrat-controlled Legislature last year. The New Republic reported that Senate Democratic leaders and some abortion rights groups chose not to lobby for it so they could focus on an abortion rights ballot measure. Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, a Las Vegas Democrat who introduced the bill, previously said in a statement to the Independent that "not every bill passes."
What to watch next
- Whether the Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool responds to The Nevada Independent's request for comment on the settlement.
- Whether Humboldt County District Attorney Kevin Pasquale clarifies his response after not returning a follow-up request.
- The 1911 statute remains Nevada law after last year's repeal bill from Sen. Rochelle Nguyen died without a hearing.
