A 17-year-old Macomb County, Mich, boy who is charged with a felony under the state's Prenatal Protection Act for helping end his girlfriend's pregnancy by hitting her in the abdomen with a baseball bat cannot use his girlfriend's consent to the termination as a defense, Macomb County Circuit Judge Matthew Switalski ruled on Thursday, the... Detroit Free Press reports (Trela, Detroit Free Press, 5/13). The girl -- who was six months pregnant at the time and subsequently gave birth to a stillborn infant -- had her boyfriend hit her repeatedly with a 22-inch souvenir bat over a two-week period in an attempt to terminate the pregnancy. However, under Michigan law, a person who intentionally harms a pregnant woman is criminally liable, but an act committed by the pregnant individual cannot be prosecuted (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 2/8). Switalski ruled that the girl could not legally consent to ending the pregnancy because Michigan law requires that minors get parental consent or a judicial bypass before undergoing an abortion, according to the AP/Detroit Free Press. "If this court says she can legally consent to these acts, ... then I have no idea why any minor would feel like she had to abide by that law," Switalski said (AP/Detroit Free Press, 5/12). Miranda Massie, the boy's attorney, said she planned to appeal Switalski's ruling but that the Michigan Court of Appeals does not usually hear such appeals before a trial, according to the Free Press. Therese Tobin, chief trial attorney for the county prosecutor's office, said that the case will be difficult to try because the girl and her family have "stood by" the boy and did not want charges filed against him, according to the Free Press. The trial likely will focus on whether the beatings caused the termination of the girl's pregnancy because the consent issue is now "off the table," according to the Free Press. Switalski set a trial date of June 21 (Detroit Free Press, 5/13).

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