In June 2012, the prosecution filed a motion to admonish her lawyer, Linda Pence, for prejudicing the potential jury pool by conducting a public campaign for the support of her client.
This caused alarm among defense lawyers nationwide, one of whom criticized the motion as a possible attempt at intimidation or to prevent Pence from raising money for her client; chief prosecutor Terry Curry denied this.
"[7][8] Shuai's case was the first in the history of Indiana in which a woman was prosecuted for murder due to a pregnancy loss after a suicide attempt while pregnant.
[4] Women's groups in the U.S. warned that Shuai's prosecution could set a precedent for criminalizing a pregnant woman's actions, such as smoking or drinking, or having a miscarriage.
[9] Recent similar cases in other states include that of Rennie Gibbs (charged with murder in Mississippi for having a stillborn daughter while addicted to cocaine) and at least 40 cases of pregnant women charged in Alabama under a "chemical endangerment" statute originally intended to protect children from the fumes of illicit meth labs run by their parents.