A Chinese immigrant who Indiana (USA) prosecutors say ate rat poison when she was eight months pregnant rejected a plea agreement Friday that would have negated a murder charge in her newborn baby's death.
Bei Bei Shuai turned down prosecutors' offer to drop a murder charge if she pleads guilty to a lesser charge of attempted feticide during a court hearing in Indianapolis, her lawyer and prosecutors said. If Shuai had accepted the deal, she could have faced six to 20 years in prison or even received a suspended sentence.
The 35-year-old Shanghai native, who was freed on bond in May after more than a year in jail, has until Aug. 31 to change her mind. Defense attorney Linda Pence said Shuai wants to clear her name and avoid the stigma of guilt. "She intends to fight these charges vigorously," Pence said. "She doesn't want any other woman to go through what she has gone through."
Several medical and women's rights groups have filed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting Shuai. Some briefs claim that a conviction in the case could set a precedent by which pregnant women could be prosecuted for smoking or other behavior that authorities deemed a danger to their unborn child. A lawyer with the New York-based National Advocates for Pregnant Women is assisting in Shuai's defense.