Pa. mom imprisoned for giving abortion pills to teen
A Pennsylvania woman has been sentenced to prison for helping to end her teen daughter’s pregnancy by giving her pills purchased online.
The (Bloomsburg) Press Enterprise reports that 39-year-old Jennifer Ann Whalen of Washingtonville was sentenced Friday to nine to 18 months behind bars after pleading guilty to performing an illegal abortion.
Whalen bought the pills from a European drug firm after the girl had gotten pregnant, but did not want to have the child. Whalen told authorities they couldn’t find a local clinic to perform an abortion, and the girl had no insurance to pay for a hospital stay.
The girl took the pills and wound up hospitalized with extreme abdominal pain.
Whalen’s attorney, Michael Banks, says his client understands “her decision was poor.”
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