Patel threw fetus into a dumpster.
By The American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: The case of Purvi Patel, 33, the unmarried Indiana woman who is accused of aborting her fetus and throwing it into a dumpster at the back of a restaurant run by her family, in July of 2013, is likely to head to a jury for a decision next week, after the parents of Patel and a pathologist testified in her favor, on Friday.
The case is being watched closely by pro-life proponents, who favor punishing Patel for her actions which they say snuffed the life of a newborn child, as it was more than 24 weeks old when she gave birth.
Apart from the question of how old the fetus actually was when Patel gave birth, the debate also hinges on whether the baby was actually alive when it was born, or not, and that could be vital in the charges of one count of feticide and one count of neglect of a dependent against Patel.
ABC reported that after the state rested its case in the trial of Patel on Friday, the defense called her parents to the stand. Purvi Patel did not take the stand. Her parents, Nic and Kunja Patel, testified they didn’t know their daughter had a secret lover or that she was pregnant. They both said they didn’t see any changes in their daughter in July 2013, when the baby was born.
Nic Patel testified their household is strictly Hindu and that he taught the religious principles of no sex outside marriage. He also testified he would prefer his daughter married within the Hindu faith but would love her regardless.
WNDU.com reported the father saying he prays at least two hours a day. He also said he would have loved his daughter’s child and would have welcomed it into the family home anyway, even though the apparent father was Hispanic, not Hindu.
Dr. Shaku Teas, a pathologist testifying on behalf of Purvi Patel, said that there was no evidence of a live birth and the flotation test conducted by Dr. Joseph Prahlow was worthless. Teas testified the baby was between 22 and 23 weeks gestation.
Her finding of 22-23 weeks gestational age differed from all the states experts, reported ABC. Dr. Bobbie Sutton a surgical pathologist concluded 26-27 weeks of age. Prahlow, the pathologist to perform the autopsy concluded at least 25 weeks of age. Dr. Byrne, who examined Patel, estimated 28- 30 weeks gestation.
They all concluded the baby was over 24 weeks, which is the age of viability, meaning the baby had a chance of survival with medical attention.
In a taped interview Patel conducted from her hospital bed the night the baby died, she told police she had only found out she was pregnant three weeks earlier and that she thought she was about two months along, WSBT reported.
According to WSBT, Patel said earlier, the baby was lifeless when it was born, but she opened its mouth and tried to revive it. She said she didn’t call 911 because she was in shock, and after cutting the umbilical cord, she put the infant in a plastic bag because she didn’t know what else to do.
The Elkhart Truth reported that a toxicologist told jurors Thursday that he couldn’t find any evidence of abortion drugs in Purvi Patel’s system after prosecutors say she used drugs purchased online to end her pregnancy in 2013.
Dr. Prentice Jones, Jr., of the South Bend Medical Foundation, testified that he couldn’t find any accepted method to test blood for the particular drugs Patel allegedly used, according to a report from the Elkhart Truth’s news partner, WNDU.
Jones said he was unsuccessful when he tried to develop his own method to test for the drugs.