Court documents state that Rowland saw a doctor at LDS Hospital on Jan. 2 who recommended an immediate Caesarean section because of fetal heart rate difficulties and a problematic ultrasound that showed the babies were not developing well, and because Rowland had very low amniotic fluid.

The doctor said in a written statement that Rowland left the hospital against medical advice and that she acknowledged her departure could result in significant brain injury or death to one or both of the babies, court documents state.

A nurse at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center also saw Rowland on Jan. 2 and said she heard Rowland say she left LDS Hospital because the doctors there wanted to cut her open "from breast bone to pubic bone," that this would "ruin her life" and that she would rather "lose one of the babies than be cut like that," court documents say.

Rowland then went to Pioneer Valley Hospital on Jan. 9 to see if the babies were alive, according to a nurse's statement included in the charging documents. The nurse could find only one fetal heartbeat and recommended that Rowland stay at the hospital, but Rowland left, the document says.

Another nurse at Pioneer Valley Hospital said that Rowland delivered twins there on Jan. 13, but one boy twin was stillborn, according to prosecutors.

Court documents further state that Dr. Edward Leis, Utah's medical examiner, performed an autopsy on the baby and found no congenital problems. He estimated the baby had died about two days earlier and said if the child had been delivered when the doctors had recommended, the child would have been alive.

Asked about a woman's right to make choices during pregnancies, prosecutor Kent Morgan said: "She didn't choose among alternative treatments available. She chose to get no treatment whatsoever."

Utah also has its share of expectant mothers who drink liquor or consume illegal drugs during pregnancy, which can cause fetal death, but Morgan said these are prosecuted in this area.

"These cases we review on a case-by-case basis," Morgan said. "If a mother causes the death of an unborn child in an unlawful way, she may well be facing murder charges."

Karrie Galloway, CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said she finds the situation troubling.

"This case points out the inconsistencies in our laws, in our emotions and our feelings about parents and children, or parents and children-to-be," Galloway said. "I would remind us that a parent who has a child who is in need of an organ transplant, let's say a kidney, is not required to give a kidney to a living child. There is no repercussion for them.