Pennsylvania mother who gave daughter abortion pill gets prison(title edited)

[Janelle2002 3,865]

By David DeKok

HARRISBURG Pa. (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania woman has been sentenced to up to 18 months in prison for obtaining so-called abortion pills online and providing them to her teenage daughter to end her pregnancy.

Jennifer Ann Whalen, 39, of Washingtonville, a single mother who works as a nursing home aide, pleaded guilty in August to obtaining the miscarriage-inducing pills from an online site in Europe for her daughter, 16, who did not want to have the child.

Whalen was sentenced on Friday by Montour County Court of Common Pleas Judge Gary Norton to serve 12 months to 18 months in prison for violating a state law that requires abortions to be performed by physicians.

She was also fined $1,000 and ordered to perform 40 hours of community service after her release. The felony offense called for up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

Matthew Bingham Banks, Whalen's lawyer, previously told Reuters criminal prosecutions of this kind were not common.

Whalen told authorities there was no local clinic available to perform an abortion and her daughter did not have health insurance to cover a hospital abortion, the Press Enterprise newspaper of Bloomsburg reported.

Her daughter experienced severe cramping and bleeding after taking the pills and Whalen took her to a hospital hear her home for treatment, the newspaper said.

The closest abortion clinic to Whalen's home is about 74 miles away in Harrisburg.

The Pennsylvania case follows the prosecution of a Florida man who pleaded guilty to tricking his girlfriend into taking an abortion pill. He was sentenced in January to 13 years in prison and $28,500 restitution. In June, Florida toughened state law to allow for prosecutions in the death of non-viable fetuses.

(Reporting by David DeKok; Editing by David Bailey and Rosalind Russell)

Related Video:

http://news.yahoo.com/pennsylvania-mother-gave-daughter-abortion-pill-gets-prison-162444220.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DatBUAtE6lk

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Captain underpants says: There seems to be a couple of words per-appended to your title that are not in the article. The article does not mention any Republicans (praising or not).

I call Shenanigans!

And away I go!

Edited September 6, 2014 by OnMyWayID

[Karee 4,190]

Captain underpants says: There seems to be a couple of words per-appended to your title that are not in the article. The article does not mention any Republicans (praising or not).

I call Shenanigans!

And away I go!

Not only that, the title doesn't make any grammatical sense. I read it 10 times, and I still don't get it.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Karee

[lostinblue 1,989]

Sounds like another blame bush situation....... A nursing home aid at that.... Whats next smothering that old lady she hates to bring breakfast to in the morning....

[Ontarkie 14,224]

~~Title edited to match article~~

Edited September 7, 2014 by Ontarkie

[_Simpson_ 250]

We must all remember that the choice of a baby's life should be left up to her and the doc. Shame on her!

[Sousuke 1,214]

~~Tittle edited to match article~~

The dot in an "i" is a tittle.

[Ontarkie 14,224]

The dot in an "i" is a tittle.

Haha yup I fixed my mistake

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

We must all remember that the choice of a baby's life should be left up to her and the doc. Shame on her!

I think the mother was just trying to help her daughter fulfill her wishes.

[_Simpson_ 250]

I think the mother was just trying to help her daughter fulfill her wishes.

oh yeah, silly me for trying to involve anyone else.

[decocker 7,198]

oh yeah, silly me for trying to involve anyone else.

the mom should have definitely taken her to a doctor right off the bat and had things done right. i'm sure the fine and all far surpasses the original cost.

[GandD 5,966]

Captain underpants says: There seems to be a couple of words per-appended to your title that are not in the article. The article does not mention any Republicans (praising or not).

I call Shenanigans!

And away I go!

I wish I could make it so that, as long as you have this avatar, every post you make is instantly given a +1 by me.

[_Simpson_ 250]

the mom should have definitely taken her to a doctor right off the bat and had things done right. i'm sure the fine and all far surpasses the original cost.

So were good on the prison sentence?

[Dan and Judy 614]

This mother is a victim of poverty.

Probably earns $8-$10 an hour

• Public funding is available for abortion only in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.
• http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/sfaa/pennsylvania.html

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

I wish I could make it so that, as long as you have this avatar, every post you make is instantly given a +1 by me.

I've been going through the CU wiki.. Get a load of some of the bad guys:

Professor Pippy pee-pee poopy pants (name later changed to Tippy Tinkletrousers)

Wedgie Woman

Bionic Booger Boy (AKA: Melvin Sneedly)

Captain Blunderpants (The alter ego)

Dr. Diaper

Zorx

Klax

Jennifer (must have been a slow day)

So were good on the prison sentence?

Not so on board with locking up non-violent defenders that are not likely repeat offenders or a danger to the community.