"On Monday, attorneys for Purvi Patel will argue to the Indiana
Court of Appeals that Patel's conviction of feticide and felony neglect
is contradictory, and thus should be overturned... In July 2013, an Indiana woman named Purvi Patel
sought treatment at a hospital emergency room for heavy vaginal
bleeding, telling doctors she’d had a miscarriage. That set off a chain
of events, which eventually led in February 2015 to a jury convicting Patel of one
count of feticide and one count of felony neglect of a dependent. Patel
was ordered in March to serve 20 years in prison for that conviction. On Monday, attorneys for Patel will argue to the Indiana Court of
Appeals that Patel’s conviction of feticide and felony neglect is
contradictory, and thus should be overturned. Furthermore, they will
say, it opens the door to wide-scale prosecution of pregnancy
terminations in the state. Patel’s attorneys argued during her trial that she experienced a
miscarriage and was in shock following the event. Prosecutors,
meanwhile, argued that Patel took drugs to induce an unlawful of
abortion, but that instead of miscarrying, Patel delivered a live fetus
that she abandoned. To support the charge of feticide, the
state at trial was required to prove Patel both “knowingly or
intentionally” terminated her pregnancy “with an intention other than to
produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus.” To support the charge
of felony neglect
at trial, prosecutors needed to show that Patel took abortifacients;
that she delivered a viable fetus; that said viable fetus was, in fact,
born alive; and that Patel abandoned the fetus. In their appeal, attorneys for Patel will argue that over the course of the seven-day trial, attorneys for the state failed to introduce any evidence
that Patel ingested the drugs the prosecution claimed she ordered. They
note that the state’s own pathologist admitted during trial that he tested for but found no evidence of abortifacients in Patel’s system. Patel’s attorneys also will argue
witnesses throughout the trial offered contradictory conclusions on the
gestational age of Patel’s fetus."
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Bulletin: Purvi Patel: Indiana: Arguments set for her appeal appeal Monday, May 23; 'Rewire' reports: "The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the conviction of a woman who, prosecutors argue, criminally induced a miscarriage."...". On Monday, attorneys for Patel will argue to the Indiana Court of Appeals that Patel’s conviction of feticide and felony neglect is contradictory, and thus should be overturned. Furthermore, they will say, it opens the door to wide-scale prosecution of pregnancy terminations in the state. Patel’s attorneys argued during her trial that she experienced a miscarriage and was in shock following the event. Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that Patel took drugs to induce an unlawful of abortion, but that instead of miscarrying, Patel delivered a live fetus that she abandoned."
