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Probation in baseball bat abortion

NO Justice in Michigan

Baby Killer gets community service and six months probation

Probation in bat abortion case
A Richmond Township teen convicted and sentenced for striking his pregnant girlfriend until she miscarried will serve 200 hours of community service at an abortion alternatives center in Clinton Township, a Macomb County judge has ruled.

But an attorney for the boy, who must also serve probation and observe a curfew for at least six months under Thursday's juvenile sentence, said the choice of location for his community service is troublesome for constitutional reasons and she'll likely appeal.

"These kinds of places are exactly the kind that gave this young man and his girlfriend erroneous and misleading information about their options with the pregnancy that have him here in the first place," said Miranda Massie, who objected strenuously to the notion during the proceedings. "The people here specialize in guilt-tripping young women into having their unwanted pregnancies." She said the pregnancy center receives aid from some pro-life or faith-based organizations.

Circuit Judge Matthew Switalski ordered Thursday that the teen, whose name is being withheld by The Macomb Daily, to serve the first six months of a probation sentence, which is expected to last until he is 19, and then return to court next March for a review date to monitor his progress on that sentence.

In the meantime, he is to observe a 9 p.m. curfew on weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends, remain in school and report to a probation officer, and to fulfill his community service requirements at Compassion Pregnancy Center in Clinton Township.

"He (Switalski) has chosen a venue to fulfill the obligation that's tailored to the offense and within the judge's discretion, and it's our understanding probation (officials) see it as an appropriate disposition," said Therese Tobin, chief trial attorney for Macomb County prosecutors, who handled the case against the teen and did not object to Switalski's determination.

Switalski himself said Thursday that the defendant is not to serve in a counseling capacity at the center and his duties there would befit a "fit young man" who could help out with lifting or menial tasks. If the organization staff attempts to indoctrinate him with its views or badger him for his acts, the judge said, he should report that immediately to the court.

"It's not like I'm trying to rub his nose in it. I'm trying to fashion community service that's appropriate to the nature of the crime for which he's now convicted," Switalski said. "He can simply pitch in and help out with any odd jobs they may need to get done."

Police and prosecutors claim last fall the accused boy, then 16, and his then-girlfriend, an Armada Township girl who is now 17, sought ways to obtain an abortion without alerting the girl's family or anyone else to the unwanted pregnancy.

They ultimately settled on a series of beatings to her abdomen over two to three weeks with a 22-inch souvenir-style bat, until she miscarried in early October.

But Michigan law apparently has no specific crime for this kind of behavior; the closest applicable charge comes from a 1999 state statute about assaults against pregnant women causing miscarriages, but the language of the law specifically states that the expectant mother herself is exempt from prosecution.

As a result, the boy faced a 15-year felony charge in the case while the girl faced no charges at all. But a conviction in juvenile court could've meant probation or possible incarceration at the Macomb County Juvenile Justice Center until he is 21. Court officials only became aware of the beatings several weeks later, based on statements the girl made during a school-related function, and police uncovered the remains of a 25-week-old fetus buried on the boy's family property.

The boy pleaded no contest late last month to a charge of assault upon a pregnant individual causing miscarriage or stillbirth, normally a 15-year felony in the adult court system. But under Thursday's juvenile disposition, he will instead receive probation and community service under juvenile disposition.

"We want to give an environment of support and assistance to women who are pregnant or think they may be pregnant," explained Barbara Seiferlein, a client services coordinator for Compassion Pregnancy Center. "We offer emotional support, material goods support and other services at least until the first or second birthday, depending on the mother's choice.

"We are volunteers and everything we give (to women) is donated to us and we donate as those materials are available."

Seiferlein said organizations like the center do not exist to antagonize or browbeat young women as some abortion rights advocates who attended the boy's hearing Thursday described, but would not get into specifics on what the center advises visitors about abortion or what the boy's duties might be when he works there, citing a desire to maintain "confidentiality."

"These places are run by the very people who picket clinics, and try to harass women who seek abortion as an option," said Renee Chelian of Northland Family Planning, who has attended several hearings in the case including Thursday's disposition. "If you've already had the abortion, they tell you about how you're going to hell and they try to make you a convert, which is a big gold star for them."

But a young woman who works for a private investigation agency and was employed by Massie to visit the center two weeks ago, posing as a pregnant teen seeking abortion, painted a picture that didn't exactly fit that view.

The woman, who identified herself just as "T.R.," said no one at the center told her she was going to hell or tried to convert her to an ideology, but said they steadfastly refused to give her any factual information about abortion as an option.

"They are compassionate, to your face, and also kind of lying to your face," she said. "They would only tell me negatives about abortion, and nothing else. Or there were some misleading facts like I would be 150 percent more likely to get breast cancer (following an abortion). I'm not sure where they get that."


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Posted by Editor at September 30, 2005 01:54 AM