Legal Momentum's amicus brief argued that the court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to accept the plea. Whitner's conviction was vacated on November 22, 1993, after she had spent 18 months in jail. The South Carolina Attorney General sought and was granted certiorari to the Supreme Court of South Carolina, although amici opposed the State's appeal.

On July 15, 1996, in an unprecedented decision, the Supreme Court of South Carolina ruled 3-2 that a viable fetus is a child for purposes of South Carolina's child abuse and child endangerment statute and that Whitner could be held criminally liable for actions taken during pregnancy that might harm a viable fetus. Legal Momentum joined an amicus brief in support of a petition for rehearing filed by the South Carolina Medical Association but the Supreme Court of South Carolina denied rehearing.