STORY: "The conversation we need to have about infanticide," by reporter Eesha Pandit, published by 'Salon' on March 26, 2016.
SUB-HEADING: "A Staten Island woman is charged with the murder of her newborn, but nobody is asking the right questions about it."
GIST: "The chronology of events reeks of desperation and disconnection. Twenty-eight-
year-old
Nausheen Rahman gave birth to a baby girl, alone, in her family’s
Staten Island condo. The accounts of what happened next are contested.
She’s been charged with the murder of her newborn, a baby girl, and then
disposing of the body in a trash can outside the home where she lives
with her parents and two younger brothers. Her family claim that they
didn’t know Ms. Rahman was pregnant. The
Staten Island assistant district attorney, Jane Grinberg, made the case
that this was a violent, horrific act for which Ms. Rahman should be
punished. Because she has relatives outside the United States, Judge
Raja Rajeswari ordered that Ms. Rahman be held at Rikers Island Jail
without bail. She will remain there while she awaits trial. If the
prosecution’s case is true, what would cause a woman like Nausheen
Rahman to do what she did? If the events are not what they say, and Ms.
Rahman didn’t kill her baby, then what happened, and why? The
facts as presented by the prosecution thus far bear striking similarity
to the case of Purvi Patel in Indiana. Patel, a 33-year-old Indian
American woman, lived with her parents and grandparents, took care of
them and worked at the family store. Last year, she became the
first woman in the United States to
be convicted and sent to prison for feticide. She asserts that she had a
miscarriage. Asian American women are certainly targets for bias, and,
consequently, prosecution. In 2011, Indiana prosecutors charged
Bei Bei Shuai with
attempted feticide and murder. Ms. Shuai, a Chinese immigrant,
attempted suicide unsuccessfully, and then delivered a baby that died
soon after birth. She wasn’t offered mental health care, or community
support. Instead, she was held without bail for over a year. In the face
of more prison time, Ms. Shuai accepted a plea deal to a lesser charge.......... This phenomenon occurs
across the spectrum — so many of us face the shame, silence and
isolation trifecta. Those who become pregnant out of wedlock, those who
want an abortion but are told it is a sin, those who become pregnant and
are drug-dependent, those who are LGBTQ, those who want an abortion and
can’t get one because they are too poor, too far away from a clinic, or
too ashamed. Those who need mental health support. Those who feel
backed into a corner with no way out. This is a conversation to be had
in our diverse communities, hardly any of which are immune to
perpetuating shame and silence. This is a conversation that should
certainly include reproductive rights, since we know that the
legalization of abortion in 1973
precipitated a
significant drop in the numbers of infanticide in the U.S."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.salon.com/2016/03/23/the_conversation_we_need_to_have_about_infanticide/
See India West report on her indictment: "New York woman who dumped newborn in trash indicted."..."The actions of this defendant are so horrendous
and so reprehensible that it shocks one’s conscience,” Jane Grinberg, an
assistant district attorney, said at the March 14 court hearing,
according to the Times report. Grinberg said that Rahman had seen a
doctor about her pregnancy, but that she kept it a secret from her
parents. (Defence lawyer) Rosas said he doubted the prosecution’s version of events. Neighbors around the Honey Bee Condominiums on
Staten Island, where Rahman lived with her parents and two younger
brothers, said they had no idea she was pregnant. She often wore
traditional clothes from India, they said, and the fabrics hung loose
around her frame, reported the Times, adding that Judge Raja Rajeswari
ordered her to held without bail. Rahman’s arraignment is scheduled for March 30."
http://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/new-york-woman-who-dumped-newborn-in-trash-indicted/article_6a3957c4-f2c0-11e5-9ba7-5fee22b11eb8.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses
several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of
the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this
powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and
myself get more out of the site.
The
Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty
incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the
harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into
pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology
system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent
stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Please
send any comments or information on other cases and issues of
interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
