Indiana court hears woman's appeal of feticide conviction

During a hearing on Purvi Patel's bid to have her convictions thrown out, Judge L. Mark Bailey asked whether evidence at trial showed the 35-year-old northern Indiana woman knew she had delivered a live, premature child that would need immediate medical care.

Deputy attorney general Ellen Meilaender, who presented the state's arguments, replied no, saying Patel claimed the "baby was dead" when she delivered it in 2013 after ingesting abortion-inducing drugs she bought online.

Meilaender pointed to the presence of the baby's blood in a bag Patel placed the child in as evidence the infant's heart was beating when it entered the bag, which was found in a trash bin behind her family's restaurant.

Court records show Patel purchased abortion-inducing drugs online through a pharmacy in Hong Kong, took those drugs and delivered a premature baby in her home bathroom.

Two dozen women's advocacy groups, as well as Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union, have filed friend-of-the-court briefs siding with Patel.