PA - East Donegal Township teenager under investigation after failed at-home abortion

[imstilla.grandma]

Lancaster Online reported that an East Donegal Township teenager in Pennsylvania ordered abortion pills online, with the help of her mother, after being turned away from a local abortion facility; she then gave birth to the baby, and weeks later, buried the body in her backyard.

Teenager under investigation after at-home abortion: 'It's still moving'

A PA teen reportedly ordered abortion pills online with the help of her mother after being turned away from a local abortion facility.

www.liveaction.org

 

[Bounceycat]

A mother and daughter who induced a "dangerous at-home abortion," then buried the baby's body in the backyard of their home now face criminal charges, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.

NEW | Mother, daughter charged after baby is found buried in backyard, DA says

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The teenager then obtained an abortion drug online, possibly with the help of her mother, took the drug May 9 and buried the fetus’ remains in her backyard a few weeks later, according to police. The gestational age when the fetus was aborted was 20 weeks, 6 days, according to the coroner.

In Pennsylvania, a fetus can be legally aborted through the 23rd week of pregnancy. The teenager was between her 15th and 19th week of pregnancy at the time of the abortion consultation, according to a timeline established in the search warrant application.

After the fetus was aborted, the teenager told the witness she was scared to touch it because it would occasionally move, though she said it did not have fully developed lungs and she believed the movements were caused by physical reflexes, according to the search warrant application.

East Donegal Township mother, daughter charged in buried fetus case

A teenager police said buried her fetus in an East Donegal Township backyard and her mother have been charged with concealing the death of a child and related offenses.

lancasteronline.com

The baby was buried in the backyard of a home on Village Square Drive in East Donegal Township, according to Susquehanna Regional Police. Investigators discovered the body in March of this year when they executed a search warrant.

"After the baby boy was born in May 2024 the juvenile defendant shared pictures of him with others and kept him in a box for days before the two buried his body," a statement from the DA's office said. "An examination of the baby’s skeletal remains, which were found in the residence’s backyard, was unable to determine if he was born alive. Jones is further accused of endangering her then-17-year-old daughter by purchasing abortion medication online for her daughter’s use against recommended instructions and without medical supervision."

NEW | Mother, daughter charged after baby is found buried in backyard, DA says

The baby was buried in the backyard of a home on Village Square Drive in East Donegal Township, according to Susquehanna Regional Police.

www.wgal.com

 

[LadyL]

why was she turned down for an abortion if her mother approved?

 

[LittleSeaTree]

why was she turned down for an abortion if her mother approved?

And it was under 23 weeks?

 

[LadyL]

And it was under 23 weeks?

20 weeks, 6 days according to the coroner

 

[Knox]

What a sad story all the way around.

 

[sleeptoker]

This is just devastating all around. I'm not far from them so I'll be following this one closely.

And it was under 23 weeks?

The daughter told police her mother bought her abortion medication because she was not old enough, despite the fact that both of them had already been told the daughter was already too far along in her pregnancy to have an abortion, investigators said.

"Though the juvenile defendant repeatedly claimed to police that she was in her first trimester when the abortion medication was taken, she was estimated to be about 20 weeks pregnant at the time. The autopsy of the newborn’s remains also estimated his gestational age to be about 20 weeks," a statement from the DA's office said.

According to this, yes.

In PA, for those who aren't aware, abortion is legal up to 23 weeks and 6 days of pregnancy (measured from the first day of the last menstrual period). Additionally, parental consent is required and the teen clearly had consent of the mother. PA is also a state where patients must received state-mandated counseling and wait 24 hours before the actual procedure.

So my question is why was she told that a) she wasn't old enough when she had consent from a parent, and; b) she was too far along? Four weeks is quite a chunk of time to mess up.