Judge: abortion laws protect girl who sought pregnancy-ending beating
Whatever you think of abortion, this is just a complete clusterfuck. 17 years old, 7 months pregnant, her douchebag boyfriend threatens to leave her if she has the baby. BIT LATE FOR THAT, arsehole. Anyway, for whatever reason, she decides she can't bear to lose the boyfriend... so she pays a friend $150 to beat her up to cause a miscarriage.
Attempt fails, labour is induced the week before her court appearance and the baby taken into foster care.
She is charged with attempted murder, as in Utah is it considered murder if a foetus of viable age is killed. She pleads no contest, goes to jail. Her mother appeals on her behalf, citing the OTHER Utah law that says a mother cannot be prosecuted for murder for a failed termination.
So: lawmakers are red-faced because someone forgot to specify that "paying someone to hit you in the stomach until you miscarry" is not considered an acceptable method of terminating a pregnancy; do they go after the friend now, since they snookered themselves with the mother?; and the girl is now suing for custody of the child.
Remember what started all this?The douchebag boyfriend? Bet he's not on the scene anymore anyway.
What a mess.
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