Parental Notification Mess: Boyfriend charged for back alley abortion

dotadave · Jan 9, 2005

RICHMOND TOWNSHIP - Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said his hands were tied when it came time to decide whom to charge in the baseball bat beating death of a fetus being carried by a teenage girl.

He decided Tuesday to do the only thing one state statute allowed: charge the boyfriend who wielded the bat, hitting his girlfriend in the stomach repeatedly over a two-week period, but let the girl off the hook, uncharged.
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The Richmond Township boy, 16, who may be arraigned as early as today in Macomb County Juvenile Court, is at home with his parents. He was charged as a juvenile with intentional conduct against a pregnancy or stillbirth, which is a felony. If convicted, he could remain in custody until age 21.

But the girl, also from Richmond - who was a willing participant in the induced abortion, law enforcement officials say - cannot be charged under that law because it specifically excludes the mother from criminal liability.

In part because it still was legal to abort the fetus, the decision renewed debate over the protection of fetuses and the fairness of charging just one of two juveniles who allegedly agreed to kill their unborn child.

Although Smith called the case "shocking and reprehensible," he added, "we are bound by the law. We don't have the option of charging (the girl)."

Smith said if the 6-month-old fetus had been viable, the boy would have been charged with manslaughter of a quick-born child, a 15-year felony.

The girl could have then also received the same charge for aiding and abetting.

Miranda Massie, a Detroit civil rights attorney, believes neither teen should be charged. "My heart went out to these poor kids," Massie said. "I believe it is a terrible mistake to be charged at all. This is a tremendous waste of public resources.

"What is Macomb County going to gain by criminal charges?"

She contacted the family of the boy to represent him. She believes that neither teen deserves to be charged.

Smith charged the boy under a state law passed in 1999 - called the "Prenatal Protection Act" - that states only the person assaulting a pregnant woman resulting in a miscarriage is criminally liable. The pregnant woman, no matter how complicit in the termination, is not.

If that provision had not been written into the statute, it would have clashed with the federal law that allows abortions under the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S Supreme Court decision, said Pam Sherstad, spokeswoman for Right to Life of Michigan, which worked to pass the 1999 state law.

"Abortion is obviously legal in the United States," Sherstad said, "and you can't have a state law that interferes with federal law. The Prenatal Protection Act was designed to protect pregnant women who are assaulted by someone resulting in the death of their unborn child. This is obviously a unique case."

Legally, the baby could have been aborted. Because the girl was a minor, she would have needed a judge's or parental permission to obtain an abortion.

Smith said he waited until final toxicology reports on the fetus were completed by the medical examiner to determine what charges could be brought against the 16-year-old boy. The prosecutor declined to identify the youth because because he is charged as a juvenile.

Arthur Caplan, professor of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, believes the girl should be charged with planning, plotting or conspiring to murder.

"But it's tough to do, because the law takes a different view of developing potential life than it does of actual life," Caplan said. "If the boy was charged with murder she probably would be facing charges, too.

"But being involved in causing a miscarriage is not as severe as murder," Caplan said. "Ethically, you could argue that this seems wrong, but the law draws a sharp distinction between killing your child and a fetus that's not yet viable. That may strike some pro-life people and conservatives as wrong, but that's the way the law is now."

Sherstad said the case illustrates how "the sanctity of life is not valued in our culture. It's sad that human life can be discarded this way. There's no value on the life of an unborn child, which makes it easier for something like this to happen."

Lori Lamerand, vice president of the Planned Parenthood Mid-Michigan Alliance, said pregnant teens have safer options available than terminating a pregnancy without a doctor.

"It's always tragic when people resort to such drastic measures, when there are appropriate, safe medical measures are available," Lamerand said.

Both the boy and his girlfriend have returned to classes at Armada High School, said Arnold Kummerow, superintendent of Armada Area Schools.

Law enforcement officials were first made aware of the incident in mid-November, when the girl spoke about the series of events that led to the miscarriage while at a high school leadership conference in the Upper Peninsula. The adult facilitator of the conference contacted the Michigan State Police. Detectives from the state police Richmond Post investigated the claim, and went to the boyfriend's home, where they found the buried fetus.

An autopsy was consistent with initial reports from the Michigan State Police that the miscarriage was caused by the girl's boyfriend repeatedly striking her with a 22-inch souvenir baseball bat over a two-week period, Smith said.

The parents of the teens were not aware of the pregnancy or the decision to abort it, investigators said.

Police believe the fetus was aborted in early October, then buried in the back yard of the boyfriend's home with the help of his mother.

The fetus died of premature birth associated with trauma to the mother, according to chief Macomb County Medical Examiner Dr. Daniel Spitz.

The fetus could not have survived outside the womb at the time of miscarriage, he ruled.
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http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0501/05/A01-50709.htm

Now this is odd. Only the man gets charged? Frankly since the woman was a willing participant I don't think either of them should be charged at all. This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the bullshit parental notification law.

airforcedrew · Jan 10, 2005

Shouldn't the guy get charged with assault and battery, and the woman get charged as an Accessory? That would make this all much easier. I know that fetus died, but your right, its all because of the parental notification law. People need to stop thinking with their bible, and start using common sense.

Eugene · Jan 10, 2005

Wait, i thought that law was meant to charge people who kill the fetus of a pregnant woman against her will. this doesn't make any bloody sense.
I mean, couldn't they just charge the boyfriend of practicing medicine without a license and than charge the girl with being a twit?

Maggie Sugar · Jan 10, 2005

"Viability" is now considered about 20 weeks. (I've had two clients have babies who survived at 21 weeks and one at 20 weeks.) That encompasses "6 month" pregnancies. Is this and OLD story?

Also, performing an abortion is a MEDICAL procedure, and the boy would also be charged with practicing medicine without a licence. Also, concealing a birth is against the law (children need birth certificates, even if they are born dead) and concealing a death is also a crime. There is a LOT more here than just "perfoming an abortion." The charges don't make much sense.

I agree, "Parental Consent" laws cause a lot of problems, but in EVERY state which has parental consent laws, there are ways to get a judge to sign off on the abortion, or have Child Protective Services do so.

Most Planned Parenthood centers have judges they can call on the spot to sign off on minor's abortions. This was unneccesary. THere are also a LOT easier ways to perform "do it yourself" abortions than to be hit with a baseball bat over a two week period! Something besides the actual action isn't right, here.

dotadave · Jan 10, 2005

Maggie Sugar said:

"Viability" is now considered about 20 weeks. (I've had two clients have babies who survived at 21 weeks and one at 20 weeks.) That encompasses "6 month" pregnancies. Is this and OLD story?

Also, performing an abortion is a MEDICAL procedure, and the boy would also be charged with practicing medicine without a licence. Also, concealing a birth is against the law (children need birth certificates, even if they are born dead) and concealing a death is also a crime. There is a LOT more here than just "perfoming an abortion." The charges don't make much sense.

I agree, "Parental Consent" laws cause a lot of problems, but in EVERY state which has parental consent laws, there are ways to get a judge to sign off on the abortion, or have Child Protective Services do so.

Most Planned Parenthood centers have judges they can call on the spot to sign off on minor's abortions. This was unneccesary. THere are also a LOT easier ways to perform "do it yourself" abortions than to be hit with a baseball bat over a two week period! Something besides the actual action isn't right, here.
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They were two despirate teenagers and considering this was a parental notification state I doubt they were very well educated on birth control or where to go for an abortion. As bad as a back alley abortion is it wouldn't have happened were it not for this law and had they been educated in their health classes.

Here is a point made by someone on another forum where I found this:

Here's what I don't get. If the woman were to beat HERSELF with a baseball bat in an attempt to abort the fetus, everything would have been "fine." But if she asks for help and someone helps her, then he can get charged, but she still can't be. Thinking about it, this isn't the only case where it is illegal to have someone help you do what you are allowed to do yourself. But I don't understand the reasoning behind this legal principle. Why are you allowed to do certain things by yourself, but if anyone tries to help you, they get charged?
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Not only that but the boy is getting treat fairly harshly by the system. He'll be spending YEARS in prison if convicted. It's malicious procecution to serve the anti-choice agenda.

HuckFinn · Jan 11, 2005

I'm amazed that people here so readily shrug off the brutality of this killing and somehow feel more sympathy for the murderer(s) than the dead baby.

element7 · Jan 11, 2005

The boy and girl both should be recieving in depth psych care after that. Instead he will be sent off to learn how to be even more brutal and she's left holding the bag back at home. Two more members of a future generation completely fucked by a holier than thou agenda.

dotadave · Jan 11, 2005

HuckFinn said:

I'm amazed that people here so readily shrug off the brutality of this killing and somehow feel more sympathy for the murderer(s) than the dead baby.
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It was a fetus. Read the story again. They were terrorized out of going to a doctor for an abortion by the parental notification law.

Maggie Sugar · Jan 12, 2005

They were two despirate teenagers and considering this was a parental notification state I doubt they were very well educated on birth control or where to go for an abortion. As bad as a back alley abortion is it wouldn't have happened were it not for this law and had they been educated in their health classes.
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Absolutely!!!! This is a clear poster case for "celibate only "health care" classes do not work to anyone's benefit at all.

I think this was desperation, (but damn, TWO WEEKS, they did have time to think about it) as for the fetus, it could well have been viable. I wish, if an abortion was what they wanted one could have been done a hell of a lot sooner. I have seen LIVE 20 week babies, and even being pro-choice, this thing seems a bit brutal. (6 weeks is one thing, 20 is an other.) But people do uncharacteristic things when scared and threatened. Infanticide is a very common crime in a lot of places (doesn't excuse it. ) I think good education about birth control and the availabiltiy of pregnancy services EARLY in this pregnancy could have saved a lot of heart ache. And jail time.

No one won in this situation. It's tragic.

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Parental Notification Mess: Boyfriend charged for back alley abortion

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