Parents Defend Michigan Teen Accused of "Baseball Bat" Abortion

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jan 7, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Parents Defend Michigan Teen Accused of "Baseball Bat" Abortion Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 7, 2005

Mount Clemens, MI (LifeNews.com) — The parents of a teenager who allowed her boyfriend to beat her with a miniature baseball bat to cause an abortion are defending the teenager who is responsible. Meanwhile, the charges against him are in dispute and his attorney is using the case to call for no more laws limiting abortion.

The boyfriend, whose name has not been released, made an appearance in a Macomb County juvenile court on Thursday. He has been charged under a state law allowing those who assault a woman and kill or injure her unborn child to be charged with two crimes.

His attorney, Miranda Massie, said the youth is a junior firefighter who volunteers for the elderly who hasn’t before had a brush with the law.

He said the incident was carried out with the girl’s consent because they did not want to tell their parents she was pregnant. The boyfriend hit the girl with the bat over the course of two weeks to kill the 6 month-old developing unborn child.

The baby boy was miscarried on October 4 and police found the body buried in the backyard of the boyfriend’s house.

After the hearing, the girlfriend’s parents spoke with ABC News and disputed the charges against him. If convicted, he could spent years in jail.

"I would just like to say that this is a very tragic situation," the boy’s father said. "Two very good children thought that the one thing that they couldn’t come to us with was this pregnancy. It’s a shame, and this prosecution is a sham."

Massie said she will challenge the charges against the boy because his girlfriend gave her consent.

"That she consented to whatever contact occurred between them, that means, of necessity, as a bedrock, crystal-clear principle of Michigan law, that there is no assault," she told ABC News.

But, prosecutor Eric Smith indicated that the severity of the assault implies consent could not have been given.

The law also includes penalties for the death of an unborn child.

Meanwhile, Massie claims the boyfriend’s actions were the results of laws limiting abortion.

"The bottom line is this: if this country keeps rolling back freedom of choice and rolling back abortion rights, what you’re going to see is more children attempting to perform back alley abortions on themselves," she said.

The couple inquired about abortion but found that they could not have one unless one of the girlfriend’s parents consented to it. The parents did not learn of the pregnancy until one of the girl’s parents found her in the bathroom shortly after the miscarriage.

The girl faces no charges in the case, since the law only allows charges against the assailant.

Throughout the proceedings, the girl sat with her parents and her boyfriend’s parents.

Judge Matt Switalski released the boy into the custody of his parents and ordered that they have no contact outside of school.

Another hearing is scheduled for March 8th.