By Liz Townsend
Despite many offers of help from pro-lifers, the 29-week-old unborn child of a young incest victim died at the hands of a notorious Kansas abortionist in late July. A judge initially prevented the abortion from taking place, but she reversed her order after "experts" said the girl would suffer "emotional injuries" if she gave birth to a live baby. The baby's mother is a 12-year-old girl who was raped in her Sterling Heights, Michigan, home by her 17-year-old brother, according to press reports. Their parents, who said they were unaware of the rape and the resulting pregnancy until the baby was 27 weeks old, sought the abortion out of state because Michigan bans third-trimester abortions unless the mother's life is threatened. The family, who moved to the United States from India one year ago, has not been identified in press accounts because the case involves a minor.
"Beyond an obvious loss of life, the abortion was the further victimization of a young mother," Erin Wilson, Right to Life of Michigan public information director, told NRL News. "It also showed a disregard for an amazing number of generous offers of assistance."
Wilson said that his office was deluged with offers to pay for the medical bills for a full-term delivery, to adopt the baby, and to give any other help in order to prevent the killing of the child.
Two pro-life attorneys also had asked the court to appoint a guardian to consider the interests of the unborn baby. "We're going to argue on behalf of the unborn child not to allow her to have an abortion," lawyer Rebecca Wasser told the Detroit Free Press.
However, the pro-lifers' efforts were unsuccessful, and the family's lawyer announced July 30 that the abortion had already taken place at George Tiller's Wichita, Kansas, abortion clinic.
The Free Press reported that the girl's parents were referred to Tiller's clinic by family physician Dr. Tara Shah, who diagnosed the pregnancy July 6 when the baby was already 27 weeks old. The pregnancy had been misdiagnosed by another doctor who treated the girl four times since March, when she began complaining of stomach pains.
Tiller is well known for his willingness to do abortions very late in pregnancy. "He has a reputation for doing late-term abortions worldwide, but it's not because
he is an exceptional doctor," Kansans for Life Executive Director David Gittrich told the Detroit News. "It's because he will abort big babies in the seventh month and later." Before the family could keep the abortion appointment, however, prosecutors in Michigan learned of the case and asked a judge to intervene. When the request was filed on July 16, prosecutors told the Free Press that they sought to prevent the abortion from taking place. "I will argue against it," Macomb County Assistance Prosecutor Jennifer Faunce told the newspaper. "I don't believe it's in the 12-year-old's best interest. The baby is very viable."
Probate Judge Pamela Gilbert O'Sullivan declared the girl a ward of the court July 17, ruling that there was probable cause that her parents were "negligent" in caring for her, the Free Press reported. The girl and her brother shared a bedroom in the family's small apartment, and were left alone during the day when the rape occurred in January, according to press reports.
The girl was sent to live with an aunt after the pregnancy was discovered. However, Sterling Heights Detective Linda Deprez testified in court that when she asked the girl's father what his response was to his son's actions, he responded, "He made a boo- boo."
Prosecutors asked Judge O'Sullivan to dismiss the petition July 24 after the family found medical doctors and psychologists to testify to the "significant risk of genetic disorder for the baby because of the incest and physical complications for the baby and mother because of her age" as well as the "emotional injuries" of a full-term pregnancy, the Washington Post reported.
Although Kansas's new law banning late-term abortions went into effect July 1, the law allows an exception for "irreversible and irreparable" physical or mental harm, which the family contends was demonstrated by this testimony, according to the Post.
Judge O'Sullivan agreed with prosecutors and returned the girl to the custody of her parents'. The judge also refused to consider the pro-life attorney's motion because it did not meet "legal timeliness," the Free Press reported.
After the hearing, the parent's attorney Lauren Tomayko told reporters, "They are going to Kansas." Six days later, Tomayko told the Free Press, "She went through the procedure. There were no complications."
As the court case was proceeding, Michigan prosecutors insisted they would file charges against the girl's brother as soon as the girl's case was decided. Prosecutor Carl Marlinga told the Free Press he would consider charging the brother with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. If convicted of this charge, which is a felony, the brother could be deported from the United States. However, after the abortion was announced Marlinga began to back away from his previous statements.
"This is looking like a case of youthful sexual experimentation that was wrongful and certainly criminal," he told the Macomb Daily. "But I believe he [is] no threat to others. He doesn't even seem like a threat to his sister anymore."
Marlinga's comments angered advocates for sexual abuse victims. " To classify this as sexual experimentation minimizes what happened," Alicia Rinaldi, a counselor at a Michigan center for sexually abused and battered women, told the Associated Press. " There was a pregnancy because of it, a conception of a child, and an abortion. This is not what could be classified as children experimenting with their sexuality."