Dinesh Ramde of the Associated Press reports on the case of Manishkumar Patel, a 34 year old in Wisconsin charged with "attempted first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child," among other crimes for allegedly abusing his girlfriend, Dr. Darshana Patel, with whom he already has a child. He happened to be married to another woman (Falguni Patel), and is accused of trying to end Darshana's pregnancy.
She suffered two miscarriages in less than a year. Shortly before the second one, the 39-year-old family physician became suspicious when she noticed powder on a cup containing a smoothie he had given her, according to a criminal complaint. Although she didn't drink that beverage, she had eaten food her boyfriend prepared for her since she became pregnant.
While waiting for a laboratory kit to test the substance, she miscarried. The lab test later confirmed the presence of the abortion pill known as RU-486, the complaint said.
His lawyer says he's not guilty. Darshana's lawyer spoke of her history of enduring his abuse.
Asked why Patel — whom she called "a highly qualified doctor" — remained in an abusive relationship for months, Lautenschlager said, "She is also a woman of Indian descent who has grown up in an Indian culture. That cultural overlay has perhaps played on the actions she may or may not have taken."
It was Darshana Patel's concern for her fetus that led her to seek the restraining order. In a letter she filed with the court, she recounted a 2006 incident in which she said she was about two months pregnant but leapt from a moving van to escape Manish Patel's abuse.
Two South Asian domestic violence experts are quoted in the story.
Counselor Shobha Rao said South Asian families often pressure abused women to put their families first.
"Even if the women go to their parents, the parents might just say, `Just try to work it out,' or `Oh, just have a child, that'll make things better,'" said Rao, a program coordinator with the San Jose, Calif.-based Maitri, which helps South Asian families deal with domestic violence.
