Man forced ex-girlfriend to miscarry after secretly feeding her abortion pills

[jimlow]

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-10105953.html

Hoo Boy this one kind of muddy situation. On the one hand you have a guy that was already a single father. He knocks up his Ex and she says that abortion isn't an "option". So the guy feels trapped and does a real shitty thing and laces her smoothy with abortion pills. Now they want to give him seven years.

On the one hand I feel bad for the guy. I'm not sure how I would react in that circumstance being backed into a corner and probably facing child support payments.

I also feel bad for the girl who was drugged and lost her baby.

Does this guy deserve seven years behind bars? I think that's too harsh. He probably deserves some form of punishment but what do you really even charge a person with in this situation? Assault?

EDIT:Wow this thread really blew up while I was asleep! Somebody posted an update to the case
http://www.thelocal.no/20150317/man-...-pill-smoothie

Looks like they were originally going to charge him with inflicting serious bodily harm and terminating a pregnancy without the mothers consent which both carry a maximum sentence of 21 years. So it seems like he took a plea bargain for 6 years and was ordered to pay the women 200,000 kroner ($24,100, €22,700) for her suffering.

[stumpy]

I'm pretty sure attempting to poison someone is a crime no matter how "trapped" you feel.

[chrisberb]

I remember reading a similar story on here a while back about a guy who did something similar.
"I can't afford child support..better poison her"

[Stelio Kontos]

Seven years is fair. What he did was pretty vile.

[prwraith]

I've thought about doing this too every time my girlfriend in high school thought she was pregnant. Glad it never came up, didn't have to test myself.

[Flutterguy]

Always wrap your junk. Never believe her when she says she's on the pill.

[jimlow]

That's what I would think at first. But poison is usually an attempt at one persons life. Since this was a fetus still its gets murky. And technically the pills are not poisonous to the mother otherwise she wouldn't survive and this would be a simple case of homicide.

[zorkuus]

Use contraception next time, if it fails then I'll feel bad for you.

[prwraith]

Always wrap your junk. Never believe her when she says she's on the pill.

This sentence encapsulates just why I want male birth control so badly.

[Stelio Kontos]

I don't care how bad your case of Oppressed White Male Victim Complex is, you don't have the right to do what this manchild did.

[phitness]

People get less time for murder and rape 7 years seems excessive. Give him a smoothie for a job well done and let him get on with his life.

[chrisberb]

That's what I would think at first. But poison is usually an attempt at one persons life. Since this was a fetus still its gets murky. And technically the pills are not poisonous to the mother otherwise she wouldn't survive and this would be a simple case of homicide.

I'm pretty sure that secretly causing another person to ingest almost anything falls under "poisoning"; whether the thing they ingest is "poison" or not.

[Calfredd]

I don't care how bad your case of Oppressed White Male Victim Complex is, you don't have the right to do what this manchild did.

Where did this nonsense come from?

[phitness]

I'm pretty sure that secretly causing another person to ingest almost anything falls under "poisoning"; whether the thing they ingest is "poison" or not.

So if I gave you tuna salad and told you it was chicken salad I'd be poisoning you?

[Independent voter]

Sounds like murder. Jury only gave him seven years?

[zorkuus]

So if I gave you tuna salad and told you it was chicken salad I'd be poisoning you?

Yes if you knew it had gone bad and the person would become ill.

[chrisberb]

So if I gave you tuna salad and told you it was chicken salad I'd be poisoning you?

Cute.
I suppose if I were allergic to tuna, then yes.

[prwraith]

Sounds like murder. Jury only gave him seven years?

You can't charge someone for murder for somebody who doesn't exist as a person.

[cFortyfive]

Seven years sounds fine.

[Shadowmelded]

That's what I would think at first. But poison is usually an attempt at one persons life. Since this was a fetus still its gets murky. And technically the pills are not poisonous to the mother otherwise she wouldn't survive and this would be a simple case of homicide.

I dunno about Norway but procuring miscarriage would be a possible charge in the UK although iirc it's rarely used.