A baby died May 24 at Kern Medical after being pulled from the womb with a fractured skull. Police believe the baby girl’s parents are to blame, but the case has presented a legal conundrum eliciting strong opinions about how to proceed.
The mother is believed to have been 30 weeks into her pregnancy when she arrived at the hospital, according to a search warrant affidavit filed by Bakersfield police.
A baby girl was delivered with “traumatic injuries… that led to the child’s death.” It’s not clear based on the account in the warrant whether the infant survived for any length of time outside the womb in her battered condition.
Medical staff noted “severe bruising” on the woman’s stomach, which she attributed to a fall while mopping. Skeptical medical staff alerted police, who came for an interview.
It was during that interview with officers that police say she told them she and her boyfriend agreed for him to beat her in an attempt to kill the baby.
Police say she told them he struck her stomach with his fists “at least 10 times,” after which she “stopped feeling the baby move.”
In a separate interview, police say the boyfriend denied hurting the woman or the unborn child.
Eyewitness News has chosen not to name the woman or her boyfriend, because they haven’t been charged with crimes.
There’s debate in the law enforcement community about whether this action amounts to a crime.
Deputy District Attorney Gina Pearl is investigating the case. She declined to comment on it specifically Monday, but in a phone conversation said the case is complicated.
Eyewitness News polled leading advocates on both sides of the political aisle about the situation and found broad consensus that what allegedly happened, should not have.
“I was shocked, and I wanted to burst into tears,” said Marylee Shrider, executive director of Right to Life Kern County. “It’s pretty sickening to read.”
A founder of Pro Choice Kern County, Jennifer Bloomquist, didn’t like it either.
“Of course, we don’t want anyone to suffer violence,” she said.
But the two split after that.
Pro Choice Kern County says this story makes a perfect case for more legal abortion and education about it, something Bloomquist says is lacking.
“We can prevent future cases by offering greater access and even funding for abortions,” Bloomquist said. “Safe and legal abortions, not induced miscarriages.”
A visit to a reproductive health professional, she said, would have given the couple a chance to consider a range of options before resorting to the alleged beating.
Shrider challenged the father in the story.
“Even if she thought of it, what kind of man would say, ‘Yeah, I’ll punch you in the stomach until the baby is dead?'” she said.
Right to Life was quick to point out what they describe as inconsistencies in the law. When a pregnant mother is killed in a murder or a drunken driving crash, the government charges defendants with double murder, ascribing personhood to the fetus.
“So the only difference in this case is the mother didn’t want the baby,” Shrider said. “The baby is a human being, or she’s not. The fact that she’s wanted or not wanted is not relevant. It doesn’t make her less human.”
Full story at Bakersfield Now.
Yes. The conspiracy to commit a crime wherein the intention is to kill. This is First Degree Murder: the term that describes the killing of a person that has been planned and carried out with malice. Malice is a legal term referring to a party’s intention to do injury to another party. Malice is either expressed or implied. Malice is expressed when there is manifested a deliberate intention to unlawfully take away the life of a human being. The debate here in the court will be surrounding the question of whether the little Baby is to be considered “human.”
Faithful and True, you just described the act of the an abortion; the “legal” murder of children in womb. With all the outcry that liberals and the like scream about by how keeping abortion legal deters mothers and fathers from this type of brutality, there are numerable cases such as this one. Even though the intrinsically evil act of abortion is legal, it DOES NOT appear to end such actions. This case will be interesting. I can see the defense play the mother as the victim in this matter. I pray for mercy on the parents, and justice for the child. Pray, Pray, Pray!!
Well, duh, practicing medicine without a license.