RICHMOND TOWNSHIP -- Investigators said a pregnant 16-year-old girl allowed her boyfriend to beat her with a miniature baseball bat to cause a miscarriage, which may lead to criminal charges against the teens and one of their parents.
The girl estimated she was four months pregnant, said Macomb County Prosecutor-elect Eric Smith. Police said the boy's mother helped transport the fetus to her home and bury it in the backyard.
Smith said the beatings were "done over a period of three weeks. It was done in an effort to terminate the pregnancy."
Neither teenager is in custody as Michigan State Police await the results of an autopsy, scheduled for today. The boy's mother could face charges of improperly disposing of a body, Smith said.
"The charges are going to depend entirely on the results of the autopsy," Smith said.
A 1999 Michigan law provides felony penalties for actions that intentionally, or in wanton or willful disregard for consequences, cause a "miscarriage or stillbirth," or cause "aggravated physical injury to an embryo or fetus." Smith said his staff is researching whether the teens could face manslaughter charges.
"This is not a black and white area of the law. It is a gray area," added Smith. "It is shocking the lengths these two teens went to terminate the pregnancy."
Under Michigan law, people under 18 need one parent's permission to obtain a legal abortion.
A minor also can receive one with a judge's permission to bypass that requirement.
The girl apparently delivered the fetus in early October and investigators learned about the incident Monday through an anonymous tip, said Michigan State Police Sgt. Gary Nesbitt. The girl appeared physically recovered from the incident, police said.
"We don't know if the fetus was live or stillborn and we don't know the cause of death," Nesbitt said. "It's too early to speculate."
Investigators said the girl gave birth to the fetus at her own home and the couple contacted the boy's mother who helped them bury the remains.
"Neither family knew about the pregnancy before it was terminated," Smith said.
State Police withheld the names of the teens, who attend Armada High School.
Investigators said they recovered the remains in the backyard of the boy's Richmond Township home Monday evening.
"They are a very nice family," neighbor Audrene Hudechek said. "They are two good kids. They were just really scared."
The young couple has dated for about seven months, said Lillian Brincefield, 19, of Armada, who knows both of them.
"They didn't know how to deal with being pregnant," Brincefield said.
Brincefield said the couple told her the boy hit the girl only once and that she miscarried later that day after being hit playing after-school sports.
While 87 percent of Michigan counties have no legal abortion providers, Macomb County does, said Rebekah Warren, executive director of MARAL Pro-Choice Michigan, a statewide abortion rights advocacy group.
A first-trimester abortion without complications costs about $300, Warren said.
Warren said she hears anecdotal evidence of forced miscarriages but those come mostly from states that require both parents approval for an abortion.
"If 16-year-olds feel that this is there only option, than we have really missed the boat on educating them about sexual health," Warren said.
