Wis. man gave girlfriend abortion drug, cops say

APPLETON, Wis. - Authorities yesterday charged a married man with slipping his girlfriend an abortion drug that caused her to miscarry twice.

Manishkumar M. Patel, 34, of Appleton, was charged with seven felonies and two misdemeanors, including attempted first-degree murder of an unborn child, stalking, burglary and two counts of violating a restraining order.

Patel and his girlfriend, Darshana Patel, 39, a family physician, have a 3-year-old child together, authorities said. They are not related, and he is married to someone else.

Darshana Patel became pregnant two more times but miscarried last December and in September, Outagamie County sheriff's Capt. Michael Jobe said.

Apparently suspecting she had been slipped mifespristone, the abortion pill also known as RU-486, the woman had a sample of her drink sent to a California lab for analysis, Jobe said. When it tested positive for the drug, she called the sheriff Nov. 1. Patel was arrested Wednesday.

Patel had been living in a house owned by Darshana Patel, Jobe said. It wasn't clear where his wife was.

Sheriff's investigators said Patel admitted having put the drug in something the woman consumed without her knowledge. Jobe didn't say how she ingested the drug.

Wisconsin is one of 37 states with a fetal-homicide law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Under the 1998 law, anyone who attacks a pregnant woman and injures or kills her fetus could face life in prison.

At least six people have been charged with a crime under the law since 1998, according to Susan Armacost, legislative director for Wisconsin Right to Life. The group tracks use of the law through media reports, so Armacost said it's possible there are more cases. *