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SOUTH BEND, Indiana (AP) — An advocacy group says a woman's 20-year sentence in the death of her premature infant is a misuse of the state's feticide law.
National Advocates for Pregnant Women Executive Director Lynn Paltrow says 33-year-old Purvi Patel's sentence marks the first time a woman in the U.S. has been convicted and sentenced for attempting to end her own pregnancy.
Paltrow says feticide laws weren't meant to be used against women who want abortions.
The judge who sentenced Patel says she abused her position of trust when she gave birth prematurely, threw the baby in the trash and lied to hospital personnel about giving birth.
Prosecutors argued that Patel took drugs from China to end the pregnancy. Patel's attorney said there was no proof she took any drug.
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