A 55-year-old doctor has been arrested in New Jersey and accused of committing violent crimes. The crime he is accused of committing is performing abortions requested by pregnant woman who did not want to carry the pregnancy to term.
The charges arose in Maryland when the Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the fetus of an unborn child was considered a viable late-term fetus. According to the Examiner’s Office, the fetus showed signs of healthy development but they say that the abortion was botched.
The doctor was arrested for violating Maryland’s state fetal homicide law. The doctor is being held in Camden County on a $3 million bail for five counts of first-degree murder. According to evidence, four other viable fetuses were found at the location of the office. An arraignment hearing was scheduled for Thursday.
The doctor also faces extradition to Maryland for the charges. The details of the case remain sealed until the New Jersey doctor and one other charged in association with the incident are arraigned in Maryland.
The second doctor charged in the incident is being held without bail in Utah. The second doctor is a female doctor. The second doctor was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder. The second doctor is also facing extradition back to Maryland and could fight the extradition by either claiming that the charges filed in Maryland are not valid or that she is not in fact the person that was named in the arrest warrant.
Charges such as these could have more than a substantial effect on both lives of the doctors involved. Incarceration is more than a mere possibility thus making it vitally important that they have an experienced defense attorney on their side.
Source: The Baltimore Sun, “Abortion doctors facing murder charges could be extradited to Maryland,” Peter Hermann, Jan. 4, 2012