Indiana woman Purvi Patel found guilty of killing foetus with abortion drugs bought online

Patel dumped the foetus into a dumpster after it was born

An Indiana woman has been convicted of feticide and child neglect after she used abortion drugs she bought on the internet to kill her foetus before throwing it into a dumpster.

Purvi Patel was said to have been hiding her pregnancy from her parents, who are strict Hindus and taught Ms Patel not to have sex before marriage, according to a report from the Guardian.

The feticide charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and the child neglect charge has a maximum sentence of 50 years, though neither carries mandatory prison time. Ms Patel is set to be sentenced on 6 March.

Reports show that Ms Patel has said that the baby was dead when she gave birth to it, before she threw it in the dumpster. A medical witness said that at the foetus’ estimated age – about 24 weeks – it could not have survived outside the womb, but a forensic pathologist said the baby was breathing when it was born.

The verdict is controversial because the charge of child neglect requires the baby to have been alive at birth, while the feticide charge would mean the child died during birth, the Guardian reported.

Follow Payton Guion on Twitter @PaytonGuion.