Herstory

Another horrendous crime out of Florida... This pre-med student, John Welden, sent his pregnant girlfriend to see his OB/GYN father. Welden told his girlfriend that his father diagnosed her with an infection requiring her to take antibiotics. Welden swapped the anibiotic pill for Cytotec, the abortion pill. He instructed his girlfriend to take the "antibiotics" three times a day for a week. His girlfriend only learned about the abortion pills when she showed up to the emergency room a week later, having aborted the pregnancy. Welden's girlfriend was six weeks pregnant and communicated her intent to carry the pregnancy to term to all of her friends and family. Federal authorities have since charged 28-year-old Welden with first degree murder and tampering. Normally, a 6 week old fetus would not be considered viable, but federal law provides otherwise. Under the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 (18 USC 1841), an "unborn child" is defined as “member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.” The Act further provides that if an unborn child is killed during the commission of a federal crime, it will constitute murder. Here, Welden's tampering with his girlfriend's prescription (a federal crime) allows authorities to tack on a first degree murder charge. Welden faces life in prison for his crimes. It is not clear what role, if any, his OB/GYN father played in the commission of these crimes.