North Carolina Teen Shot and Killed After She Refused Abortion, Document Show
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 21, 2009
Charlotte, NC (LifeNews.com) — New documents related to the shooting death of 15-year-old girl Tiffany Wright show that she had been pressured by her adoptive brother to have an abortion. Information released Tuesday accuses Royce Mitchell, 36, of taking his adopted sister, Tiffany, to a Charlotte abortion center.
The incident occurred in July and the documents say Wright was refused an abortion because her pregnancy was too far along at the time.
The police information also indicates Mitchell wanted to take Wright to an abortion center in Atlanta that does abortions later in pregnancy, but she refused to go.
Police say Mitchell is a person of interest in the shooting but they have not charged him yet with any crime.
According to an AP report, Tiffany’s foster parents say in an affidavit that she reported that Mitchell and another woman held her against her will in an effort to coerce her into having the abortion.
It also states that Department of Social Services requested Mitchell move out of his family’s home because of allegations that he had sex with Wright. But, Mitchell’s wife told detectives that he returned to the house an hour after Wright was shot to shower and change clothes.
Mitchell is currently in prison on an accusation he violated the terms of his probation relating to a 2002 drug trafficking charge.
Tiffany Wright was 32 weeks pregnant at the time she was shot and her baby was initially hospitalized but later died.
Doctors at the Carolinas Medical Center delivered the baby three hours after the shooting took place.
Wright was an 11th-grader at Hawthorne High School, which offers a special program for pregnant moms and teen girls with newborns.
Police told the newspaper that Wright was found in the street shot in the head at the time officials arrived.
Wright’s grandmother walked her to the bus stop and returned to it after getting her a glass of water and found Wright dead.
Ashelee Barber, a niece of Tiffany Wright’s foster mother, said the teen had a positive outlook on life despite her pregnancy and was excited about the baby.
"She was just a very sweet girl," said Barber to the Charlotte Observer. I assume she was going through a lot of stuff. When people go through tough times, they sometimes develop hateful feelings, but she wasn’t that way."
North Carolina, unlike 36 other states, does not have a law on the books allowing prosecutors to charge defendants with killing or injuring the unborn child when they attack a pregnant woman.
Although the culprit may serve jail time for the death of or injury to the mother, there is no punishment and no justice for the crime committed against the baby.
Pro-life advocates tried to get the legislature to approve HB 890, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, last session.
Related web sites:
North Carolina Legislature – https://www.ncga.state.nc.us
North Carolina Right to Life – https://www.ncrtl.org
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