.- A man was sentenced to one year in prison and two years probation after giving his pregnant girlfriend potent drugs, without her consent, so as to cause a miscarriage. Judge Jean-Pierre Bonin said May 18 he wanted Gary Bourgeois’ sentence to send a message to all men facing an unwanted or unexpected pregnancy, reported The Gazette.
“Society cannot tolerate a male partner in a relationship unilaterally putting an end to a pregnancy,” he said, adding that Bourgeois violated the woman’s most basic rights.
Bourgeois had two women pregnant at the same time in 2001. He tried to persuade the victim to have an abortion, but the woman, a mother of three, said she was opposed to it.
After speaking with friends, doing research on the Internet and consulting with a doctor, Bourgeois decided to take matters into his own hands. After having intercourse with the pregnant woman, he inserted two pills, used to treat stomach ulcers, into her vagina. The woman began to cramp and hemorrhage. She miscarried her baby in hospital at 14 weeks gestation. Charges were made after the woman discovered one of the pills.
Bourgeois’ lawyer, Lloyd Fischler, said his client was surprised by the sentence but had considered the possibility that he would be given jail time.
