A man from Belfast has appeared before the High Court in Northern Ireland after he allegedly kicked his pregnant partner in an attempted act of baby destruction.
The unnamed accused, 20, faced charges of attempted child destruction and grievous bodily harm with intent, allegedly stamping on his girlfriend’s head and stomach on 19 September.
The girlfriend says that he shouted that the baby was not his and did not care. She was seven months pregnant at the time.
However, the girlfriend has since withdrawn her complaint.
Justice Horner, presiding over the case, refused bail to the accused, citing his concern that the boyfriend might attempt to interfere with and influence witnesses.
If the boyfriend is found guilty, Justice Horner said, “this was an attack on a heavily pregnant female by a young man”.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “The targeting of mothers and their babies by abusive partners is abhorrent, but all too common, with numerous other cases being reported every year, at home and abroad.
“Last year, a man from County Donegal, in the Republic of Ireland, was jailed after threatening to kick his unborn baby out of his pregnant girlfriend during a vicious attack, as SPUC reported at the time.
“Whatever the eventual outcome is in this latest case, such violence is part of the broader assault on women and the unborn, underwritten by abortion.
“Abortion, far from protecting women, leaves them vulnerable to a culture of coercion and other forms of abuse, which in many cases abortion facilitates.
“As abortion becomes more widespread and normalised, we can expect more and more of these horrific cases.”
Similar stories
Pregnant woman murdered and burned after refusing an abortion in Brazil
Boyfriend who threatened to “kick” unborn baby out of girlfriend during vicious attack is jailed
Dundee man threatened to kill baby if girlfriend did not abort it