"The state's about-face in this proceeding is unsettling, as well as untenable" under prior court precedent, Judge Terry Crone wrote in the ruling.
[2] Patel's case had caused international controversy because the overturned conviction had opened the door for any woman who expresses doubt about her pregnancy to be charged if she miscarries or has a stillbirth.
[5] On July 13, 2013, Patel "delivered a baby boy measuring thirty-one centimeters (approximately one foot) long and weighing 660 grams (slightly less than one and a half pounds)" at home in her bathroom.
At St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka, Indiana, "[b]ased on the size of the umbilical cord...[examining physicians] Ob/gyn Dr. Tracy Byrne and OB/GYN Dr. Kelly McGuire...determined that 'there had to have been a baby'".
After questioning by both doctors, Patel "finally acknowledged that she had given birth to a baby and stated that she had put it in a paper bag and placed it in a dumpster behind a Target store".
[3] Prosecutors charged Patel with feticide for allegedly inducing an abortion, as the pills in question had been purchased online overseas, which was illegal in the United States.