Moira Akers is facing the consequences of a 17th-century forensic method after being convicted of second-degree murder in 2022 for the death of her newborn in Columbia, Maryland. Truthout reported that prosecutors relied heavily on the “float test”—a discredited procedure that places fetal lungs in water to determine live birth—to secure the conviction, despite widespread criticism from the medical community.
Akers Claims Stillbirth as Investigators Cite Abortion Searches
She told police she gave birth to a baby that was not breathing and subsequently placed the remains in a plastic bag in a closet. Struggling financially with a toddler and an 8-year-old, Akers admitted she hid the pregnancy and did not seek prenatal care because of the stigma and her husband’s reluctance to have another child.
Investigators doubted her stillbirth account, pointing to her online searches for abortion services and lack of prenatal care as evidence of ill intent. Former Maryland chief medical examiner Dr. David Fowler signed the autopsy report that utilized the float test to conclude the baby was born alive before being asphyxiated. Fowler also testified during the trial, providing the core medical evidence prosecutors used to convict Akers in 2022.
Disavowal From State Health Officials
The float test has faced severe scrutiny from medical experts who view it as imprecise and devoid of methodological rigor. David McCallister, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Health, formally disavowed the practice in an email statement to Truthout prior to publication. McCallister stated that the lung float test is not part of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s current routine practice, reflecting evolving scientific evidence, National Association of Medical Examiner guidance, and the independent medical judgment of forensic pathologists.
McCallister added that historical applications of the test served only as one component of an overall forensic assessment interpreted alongside investigative and autopsy findings. He noted that how an individual autopsy finding is used in a criminal prosecution remains separate from the office’s medical determination of cause and manner of death.
Broader Scrutiny Surrounding Dr. Fowler
Fowler previously drew sharp criticism for his 2021 testimony in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, where he argued that George Floyd died from drug intoxication and vehicle exhaust fumes rather than police restraint.
Fowler was also the subject of a scathing audit released by the Maryland Attorney General’s office, which uncovered that at least 36 cases involving deaths during police restraint were improperly ruled accidents or left unclassified during his tenure.
Akers Faces Prosecution While Lawyers Challenge Old Methods
McCallister’s disavowal marks a stark departure from past practices used to determine causes of death in Maryland, though its retroactivity regarding Akers’ case remains uncertain. Having already served three years in prison, Akers faces ongoing prosecution while her defense lawyers and advocates fight a bureaucracy anchored to Fowler’s former methods.
