An Illinois man has been charged over claims he secretly gave abortion pills to a woman without her consent in order to induce a miscarriage.
Emerson Evans, 31, from the city of Normal near Bloomington, was arrested and charged with two counts of intentional homicide of an unborn child, police said.
Officers were called to a Bloomington residence around 7 p.m. on Friday following a reports of a medical emergency, according to a statement by the Bloomington Police Department.
At the house they allegedly found a pregnant woman crying in the bathroom, who told them that she believed her boyfriend Evans had secretly given her abortion drugs.
“After this occurred, the victim began experiencing medical complications and suffered a miscarriage, resulting in the loss of her pregnancy,” the department said.
The charge is akin to first degree murder and if proven could carry a sentence of up to 60 years in prison.
“We are again saddened by the alleged criminal actions which resulted in harm to others,” said Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington.
“It is my hope the mother involved in the matter fully recovers and has the resources and support of this strong community in the future.”
It comes after prosecutors in Texas charged a 38-year-old I.T. worker at the Bureau of Prisons for allegedly secretly spiking his pregnant girlfriend’s drink with abortion pills, leading to the death of her six-week-old fetus.
Other similar cases have arisen in Texas, Massachusetts, and Washington state, with one victim even suing a European abortion pill service for its role in the non-consensual termination of her pregnancy.
On Monday, a judge in Illinois agreed to detain Evans pending trial, setting his arraignment for early September.
According to local broadcaster WCIA, court documents allege that Evans initially denied doing anything wrong, but later admitted to giving his girlfriend the abortion drug mifepristone.
Police did not give the victim’s name, “out of respect for [her] privacy”.
