It's Mur-duh

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

WTF is wrong with these people?

2 abortion providers charged with murder in Md.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities say two out-of-state doctors who traveled to Maryland to perform late-term abortions have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder, an unusual use of a law that allows for murder charges in the death of a viable fetus.

Dr. Steven Brigham, of Voorhees, N.J., was taken into custody Wednesday night and is being held in the Camden County jail, according to police in Elkton, Md. Authorities also arrested Dr. Nicola Riley in Salt Lake City and she is in jail in Utah. Each is awaiting an extradition hearing.

A grand jury indicted the two doctors after a 16-month investigation, police said.

The investigation began in August 2010 after what authorities say was a botched procedure at Brigham's clinic in Elkton, located near the border of Maryland and Delaware.

An 18-year-old woman who was 21 weeks pregnant suffered a ruptured uterus and an injured bowel, according to documents filed in a previous investigation by medical regulators. Rather than call 911, Riley drove her to a nearby hospital, where both she and Brigham were uncooperative and Brigham refused to give his name, documents show.

A search of the clinic after the botched abortion revealed a freezer containing 35 late-term fetuses, including one believed to have been aborted at 36 weeks, the documents show.

Brigham, 55, is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of second-degree murder and one count of conspiracy. Riley, 46, faces one count each of first- and second-degree murder and one conspiracy count.

The charges relate to the botched procedure as well as other abortions performed at the Elkton clinic or fetuses found there, authorities said.

Cecil County State's Attorney Ellis Roberts declined to elaborate on the charges or the circumstances that led to them, saying it would be inappropriate to comment before Brigham and Riley, who were taken into custody on fugitive warrants, had seen the indictments.

Maryland is one of 38 states that allows murder charges to be brought against someone accused of killing a viable fetus. The 2005 state law has so far only been used for cases in which defendants were accused of assaulting or killing pregnant women.

"We are in uncharted territory," Roberts said. "At some point in time," he added, "you will hear our explanation" of the charges.

The state law allows for murder or manslaughter charges to be brought against a person who intends to kill or seriously injure a fetus or who wantonly disregards the safety of a fetus. It does not apply to doctors administering lawful medical care and does not impinge on a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy.

Brigham's attorney, C. Thomas Brown, said in an emailed statement that he does not believe his client has violated any Maryland laws. He said he has not seen any charging documents or spoken with Brigham since the arrest.

"Dr. Brigham has fully cooperated with this investigation," Brown said. "I had an agreement with the state's attorney's office that if Dr. Brigham was charged, he would voluntarily come to Maryland to surrender. For reasons unknown to me, the state did not honor that agreement. ... It is my opinion that Dr. Brigham's arrest in New Jersey was orchestrated to ensure that he remained in custody over this holiday weekend."

An attorney for Riley also took issue with her client being behind bars.

"We believe the charges are without legal merit," said attorney Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum. "We believe it's inappropriate for her to be held without bond. She is not a flight risk and she should be released on her own recognizance."

Krevor-Weisbaum said Riley's legal team would comment further after they had seen the indictment.

A spokeswoman for the Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal advocacy group, said she was not aware of any cases in the United States in which an abortion provider had been charged with murder in the death of a fetus. A Philadelphia doctor, Kermit Gosnell, faces murder charges in the deaths of seven newborn babies but has not been charged with killing fetuses.

The botched 2010 abortion led regulators to order Brigham to stop practicing medicine in Maryland without a license, and Riley's Maryland license was suspended. Brigham's New Jersey license was also suspended, leaving him without a valid license in any state, and New Jersey authorities are pursuing revocation of his license there. New Jersey authorities have cooperated with the Maryland criminal probe, said Thomas R. Calcagni, director of the State Division of Consumer Affairs.

According to regulators, Brigham would begin abortions in New Jersey and have his patients drive themselves to Maryland to complete the procedures, taking advantage of Maryland's more permissive laws. Brigham was not authorized to perform abortions in New Jersey after the first trimester, and regulators called his actions manipulative and deceptive.

In Maryland, licensed physicians can perform abortions before the fetus is deemed capable of surviving outside the womb, and abortions of viable fetuses are permitted to protect the life or health of the mother or if the fetus has serious genetic abnormalities. Doctors generally consider fetuses to be viable starting around 23 weeks.

Anti-abortion activists hailed the arrests of Brigham and Riley.

"These two individuals are now where they belong and should be in jail for the rest of their lives," the Rev. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said in a statement. "Even those who believe abortion should be legal can join with us to stop the out-of-control practices of people like Brigham and Riley."

"Center for Reproductive Rights"  nice use of semantics for a "Murdering Unborn Children Think Tank".  If they love abortions so much, why are they afraid to say it?

[yoga-like_abana]

was hoping this was going to be a jermaine maybanks thread  real sugar dick would not have let me down

[jtksu]

36 wks?!  eff those guys.

[steve dave]

was hoping this was going to be a bone thugs-n-harmony thread 

[OK_Cat]

meet me at the crossroads, steve dave.   

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

Damned bible beaters and their laws. I just don't get the whole outcry over late-term abortion. What's the alternative? Get bogged down in all this "science" muckity muck over whether a baby fetus is "viable?" If there's any part of that baby lump of cells that's still inside, I say it's fair game. Am I right? I mean, don't we still have a constitutional right to privacy in this country? And let's not forget the mother's reproductive health! Besides, it's not like these potential kids would have ever amounted to anything, anyway.

[OK_Cat]

Damned bible beaters and their laws. I just don't get the whole outcry over late-term abortion. What's the alternative? Get bogged down in all this "science" muckity muck over whether a baby fetus is "viable?" If there's any part of that baby lump of cells that's still inside, I say it's fair game. Am I right? I mean, don't we still have a constitutional right to privacy in this country? And let's not forget the mother's reproductive health! Besides, it's not like these potential kids would have ever amounted to anything, anyway.

this thread is about 90's gangsta rap now, sorry bro.

[OK_Cat]

mur-duh was the case that they gave me

[michigancat]

[OK_Cat]

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

A search of the clinic after the botched abortion revealed a freezer containing 35 late-term fetuses, including one believed to have been aborted at 36 weeks, the documents show.

   Hilarious, a baby 4 weeks from his/her due date was killed and stuck in a freezer. - OKCat and MichiganCat

An 18-year-old woman who was 21 weeks pregnant suffered a ruptured uterus and an injured bowel, according to documents filed in a previous investigation by medical regulators. Rather than call 911, Riley drove her to a nearby hospital, where both she and Brigham were uncooperative and Brigham refused to give his name, documents show.

Even funnier, the two "doctors" who performed a procedure (read:  "murdered a baby") only legal if the "mother's" life is in danger, nearly killed the mother performing the illegal act.   

Then, since these "doctors" are really just butchers, rather than sew her up or call the paramedics, drove her to a hospital in hopes of covering up their crime.   


Disgusting

[LickNeckey]

Slightly OT - but how does one become a pro life libertarian

seems quite oxy-moronic.  no?

[john "teach me how to" dougie]

Slightly OT - but how does one become a pro life libertarian

seems quite oxy-moronic.  no?

I suppose it depends on at what point you believe life begins.

[Bloodfart]

In Kansas the cut off for trying to save a baby / fetus is 23 weeks.  They save 23 week babies all the time in Wichita, KS. 
They have a higher risk of having medical conditions.  This 36 weeks crap makes me sick.  Give the kid up for adoption or just drop it off at a designated safe place.  You can just leave a kid at any fire station and they will take care of it.  Geezus those 2 so called doctors better be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

Slightly OT - but how does one become a pro life libertarian

seems quite oxy-moronic.  no?
[/quote

killing a fetus that would otherwise live is a violation of said fetus' individual liberty, duh

[DQ12]

Just awful.

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

[LickNeckey]

If the mom would just kill the teenage daughter they could kill 2 birds with one stone.

also this would help to ease the overpopulation of the planet.  so really three birds i guess. 

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

The planet is not "over populated," unless you believe that mankind is "destroying the planet." Can't help you there.

Also, please note that the girl in the picture is white. There are tens of thousands of couples who would love the opportunity to adopt a white baby. What a shame. (That one's for you, OKCat!)

[LickNeckey]

But how do you know the baby will be white  

also 7 billion is a lot of people, reproducing exponentially  

[Rage Against the McKee]

Overpopulation will take care of itself with an epidemic just like it always does. That's not really the point of this thread, though. . .

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

Only lunatics think the planet is overpopulated.  Those same lunatics also universally support the president that defunded the space program.  If we aren't looking for new real estate, it means we're gong to have to free some up.  Beware . . .  unborn children . . . Perhaps a child quota like in China . . . Genocide . . . Wars . . . Epidemics . . . all viable solutions. 

[Rage Against the McKee]

Only lunatics think the planet is overpopulated.  Those same lunatics also universally support the president that defunded the space program.  If we aren't looking for new real estate, it means we're gong to have to free some up.  Beware . . .  unborn children . . . Perhaps a child quota like in China . . . Genocide . . . Wars . . . Epidemics . . . all viable solutions. 

The United States is definitely not overpopulated, and might never be. Countries like China and India most definitely are overpopulated. The entire continent of Africa is also overpopulated, given their resources. The sustainable population of the planet changes as technology advances.

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

Only lunatics think the planet is overpopulated.  Those same lunatics also universally support the president that defunded the space program.  If we aren't looking for new real estate, it means we're gong to have to free some up.  Beware . . .  unborn children . . . Perhaps a child quota like in China . . . Genocide . . . Wars . . . Epidemics . . . all viable solutions. 

The United States is definitely not overpopulated, and might never be. Countries like China and India most definitely are overpopulated. The entire continent of Africa is also overpopulated, given their resources. The sustainable population of the planet changes as technology advances.

see what I mean

[jtksu]

Anyone who thinks the world isn't overpopulated clearly has never left the US.