Coming To a Back Alley Near You?
I should probably stop reading news online before I go to bed, lest I go to sleep dreaming of more frightening scenes from “W’s America.” Here’s one to tide you over tonight, while the W sits at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue counting how many Supreme Court justices he’ll get to appoint in his second term. Imagine, teenagers baseball bats in homemade abortions.
Investigators said a pregnant 16-year-old girl allowed her boyfriend to beat her with a miniature baseball bat to cause a miscarriage, which may lead to criminal charges against the teens and one of their parents.
The girl estimated she was four months pregnant, said Macomb County Prosecutor-elect Eric Smith. Police said the boy’s mother helped transport the fetus to her home and bury it in the backyard.
Smith said the beatings were “done over a period of three weeks. It was done in an effort to terminate the pregnancy.”
Neither teenager is in custody as Michigan State Police await the results of an autopsy, scheduled for today. The boy’s mother could face charges of improperly disposing of a body, Smith said.
…Under Michigan law, people under 18 need one parent’s permission to obtain a legal abortion.
A minor also can receive one with a judge’s permission to bypass that requirement.
The girl apparently delivered the fetus in early October and investigators learned about the incident Monday through an anonymous tip, said Michigan State Police Sgt. Gary Nesbitt. The girl appeared physically recovered from the incident, police said.
“We don’t know if the fetus was live or stillborn and we don’t know the cause of death,” Nesbitt said. “It’s too early to speculate.”
Investigators said the girl gave birth to the fetus at her own home and the couple contacted the boy’s mother who helped them bury the remains.
Is it extreme to say this is the kind of thing we can look forward to now that Bush and the Republicans control every branch of the federal government? It is alarmist? Bush has stated that his favorite current justices are Scalia and Thomas, both of whom are anything but moderate. Bush also does not have to worry about being relected. Worries about his “legacy” probably won’t deter him either, since it’s likely a part of his desired legacy to at least be the president whose appointments opened to door to reversing Roe v. Wade. And who’s going to stop him? The Senate Democrats? The same people the just made conservative Dem. Harry Reid their leader?
I, for one, have my doubts. But I could be wrong. I hope I’m not. If I am, then this story is an isolated event. If I’m not, then it’s an omen. Only time will tell.
November 18th, 2004 at 3:59 am
It’s an isolated event. As we know, abortion is legal. This is a case of young stupid children; a young girl too afraid to face her parents. If, God forbid, Roe v. Wade is ever repealed, we’ll just see a spike in sales of wire hangers. This story is grossing me out majorly. How demented is that boy’s mom?
November 18th, 2004 at 12:54 pm
Just passing through and couldn’t believe this story. Don’t get me wrong, I’m scared of the second Bush term too, but talk about a bad example . . . this girl and her boyfriend (not to mention his mother) sound too demented to even be guests on the Jerry Springer show, much less for their case to be shaping anyone’s opinion on abortion/choice issues. Some people are just plain idiots, no matter what the law says or who’s in the White House.
November 18th, 2004 at 2:34 pm
Shoot, you think that’s scary, you should see this from the New York Times. My full post about it is here.
How about back alley clinics where people pay to have monitoring devices removed, kids? This is one of the most disturbing things I’ve read in a long time. I’m not ready for my leash.