A woman was beaten by her boyfriend at eight weeks pregnant after refusing to have an abortion; he now faces felony charges.
A Franklin County man is in jail after allegedly attacking his pregnant girlfriend when she refused his demands that she undergo an abortion, drawing renewed attention to Pennsylvania’s legal protections for unborn children and their mothers.
Antoine Jean Porcenat, 41, of Chambersburg, was arraigned on May 19 and placed in the Franklin County Jail after he was unable to post $25,000 bail. According to court documents, borough police responded to reports that a woman was eight weeks pregnant and that her boyfriend, Porcenat, had assaulted her because he wanted her to end the pregnancy.
The unidentified woman said the alleged assault occurred after her boyfriend had repeatedly pressed her to abort their child, even asking her at one point to drink an unknown liquid to kill the baby, but she repeatedly insisted on keeping the child.
Porcenat allegedly struck the woman twice in the stomach with the palm of his hand with “substantial force,” according to court documents. The blows resulted in bleeding and serious pain, requiring her to be hospitalized.
The incident involving the unknown liquid is particularly troubling to investigators. He reportedly told her he wanted her to drink the substance to “get rid of the baby,” suggesting he may have spiked it with abortion drugs, though authorities have not confirmed whether the liquid contained any such substance or whether the woman consumed any of it.
In addition to aggravated assault of an unborn child, which is a felony charge, Porcenat is also charged with simple assault and reckless endangerment.
The charges filed against Porcenat fall under Pennsylvania’s Crimes Against Unborn Child statutes, which recognize the unborn as a distinct victim under state law. Pennsylvania enacted these protections to ensure that violence against a pregnant woman resulting in harm to her unborn child carries its own criminal penalty, separate from charges related to harm inflicted upon the mother herself.
The case marks the latest in a trend advocates have long documented of pregnant women choosing to continue their pregnancies against a partner’s wishes and facing serious physical danger as a consequence. Research increasingly shows that violence, including homicide, rivals or exceeds individual obstetric causes as a leading killer of pregnant women in the United States.
Porcenat’s preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 26 at the Franklin County Judicial Center in Chambersburg. It was not immediately clear whether he has retained legal counsel.
