In 2007, Wisconsin man Manishkumar Patel was charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide for attempting to trick his girlfriend into taking a drink he had laced with the abortion drug RU486. After skipping out on his bail and living as a fugitive for a decade, Patel has finally been convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison, plus four years of extended supervision.
The woman, who did not consume the spiked drink, became suspicious when she watched him stirring the beverage while she waited for him in the car at an ice cream shop. She saw powder in the drink, and went inside to see if the employees had added the powder. They informed her that they did not. The woman then decided to take a sample of the drink and send it for testing.
“They have discovered swabs of RU486 from the smoothie that she had sent to them,” said District Attorney Melinda Tempelis. “RU486 is an abortion drug. It is not the morning after pill, it cannot be dispensed by general doctors or prescribed or available through pharmacy.”
A search of Patel’s home uncovered an envelope containing RU486, which Patel said he had a friend send to him. He admitted to giving his girlfriend one of the pills, but would not tell police when or where that happened. He fled to India, he said, to see his father one last time, but didn’t return to the United States until 2017, and was arrested in New York. According to Fox 11, in 2007, Patel said he was concerned that his preborn child would be born with the same medical condition as the former couple’s born son.
“I have had plenty of time to think about what I did,” he said during his sentencing. “I have no excuse or explanation for my actions. […] I was convinced my child would suffer the same fate. This did not excuse what I did.”
READ: What to do if your boyfriend – or anyone – wants you to get an abortion
He said he made the decision to return to the United States, even though he knew it would cost him his freedom, because he wanted to resolve the situation. Due to his plea deal, the charges for skipping bail were dropped. Judge John Des Jardins, who handled the sentencing, called it an “extreme case,” and said he thinks “a steep price has to be paid for someone who engages in this type of behavior.”
Patel’s girlfriend miscarried the baby about two weeks after the incident.
“I took a life of an unborn child,” Patel said. “I realized that even if the child had some sort of medical problems, he would still have had a life.”
