Fetus found in airplane bathroom

[Spin Echo]

link

Bush Intercontinental crew finds fetus in jet toilet

Authorities are investigating a dead fetus found in the bathroom of a Continental Airlines flight that landed Sunday afternoon at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

A cleanup crew found the fetus in a rear bathroom around 6 p.m., a little more than an hour after passengers left the plane. Flight 433 arrived from New York's LaGuardia Airport at Terminal C at 4:45 p.m., about 30 minutes behind schedule.

The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office will do an autopsy to determine whether the fetus was viable.

Authorities are investigating to determine if a crime was committed, FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said.

"If a crime was committed on the aircraft, then it would make it the FBI's jurisdiction," she said.

No further information was immediately available.

I can't believe this is conidered newsworthy. Dollars to donuts, some poor woman had a miscarriage on the flight. What do they think happened, there was an illegal abortion at 30,000 ft?

[Jaepheth]

One of the comments on the linked site made a good point. The fetus was found in the bathroom, not the waste tank.

Which would seem to mean that whoever it belonged to certainly knew about it, and if the child had been wanted at all, the crew certainly would've known about it then.

I would then conclude that this is being investigated as a case of abandonment, or whatever these cases turn out to be. (The media seem to report a handful of these each year)

[Rye]

One of the comments on the linked site made a good point. The fetus was found in the bathroom, not the waste tank.

Which would seem to mean that whoever it belonged to certainly knew about it, and if the child had been wanted at all, the crew certainly would've known about it then.

I would then conclude that this is being investigated as a case of abandonment, or whatever these cases turn out to be. (The media seem to report a handful of these each year)

It was probably dead when it was delivered and the woman didn't know what to do about it, so she panicked and left. I don't see why it would be abandonment if it was just a foetus, she probably just miscarried.

[Broomstick]

"Fetus" can mean everything from a slimly alien-looking blob to a nearly ready to deliver slimy baby-looking object. This whole "determine viability" thing makes it sound like a fairly late term situation but you just don't know.

I agree, though, it's most likely a miscarriage, in which case I see zero reason to prosecute, or even to trouble finding the women. Yes, some busy-body will maintain we should hunt her down "for her own good", supposedly to make sure she gets any needed medical care, but really such things seem more often vindictive and a means to publicly humiliate some poor woman who is going through enough shit right now.

If she had reported this to the flight crew either - depending on where in the flight it occurred - the flight would have been diverted, seriously inconveniencing all aboard, or disembarking would have been delayed because you know they would have had emergency personnel arrive to take her to a hospital whether she wanted to go there or not, whether she had insurance or not (and if not, possibly bankrupting herself and her family rather than taking her to a facility that wouldn't drain her assets), whether she really needed to go there or not. Not to mention that it would STILL get on the news, only this time with her name connected to it. Depending on her circumstances, this could result in anything from minor embarrassment to, if she's a teen from the wrong sort of family, possible physical danger for her.

[Shroom Man 777]

That is seriously freaky. Imagine going for a shit and finding one of those in the airplane toilet. What do you do? Me? I don't know. Would the Air Marshall be called? Would the ensuing commotion make people freak out and, inexplicably, think that there were terrorists (and abortionists) on the plane? As much as I never want to see a sight like that, I'd love to see people's reactions to it.

Also, it would make for one weird airplane movie.

[FSTargetDrone]

The linked story has been updated:

April 1, 2008, 10:54AM

Charges unlikely for teen who left fetus in airplane trash

By DANE SCHILLER

Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

An eighth-grader returning to Houston from a school field trip in New York delivered a stillborn fetus in a Continental Airlines jet's lavatory, police said.

The 14-year-old girl told police she didn't know she was pregnant.

"We are dealing with a scared child at this point," said Keith Lovelace, an investigator with the Houston Police Department.

Although an investigation continues into such matters as to who the father is, charges are not expected to be filed against the girl, federal and local officials said Monday.

"The baby was stillborn; it was not alive at the time of birth," Lovelace said.

Authorities declined to name the girl, her middle school, her address or why she was traveling, other than describing it as a school-related event with classmates and adult chaperones.

She was accompanied by her mother when she was questioned. Police declined to say how they identified the girl.

Texas Child Protective Services is not involved and has not been asked to be involved in the case, said Gwen Carter, spokeswoman for CPS in Houston.

A cleaning crew found found the fetus in a bathroom trash disposal late Sunday afternoon after Flight 433, which carried about 150 people, arrived at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, police said.

Continental Airlines declined to comment.

The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy on Monday, but a supervisor there said final results, such as the gestation or gender of the fetus, weren't immediately available.

When the investigation is complete, findings will be given to the Harris County District Attorney's Office, Sgt. Ryan Chandler said.

"As far as the father and other loose ends, such as the District Attorney's Office, that is what we are concentrating on," he said.

Police said that if the coroner had determined the fetus had been born alive, the case would have been sent to the FBI because the incident occurred aboard an aircraft.

"We waited for results of the medical examiner's report to determine whether this was a child born alive and killed, or a medical miscarriage, which would be a private medical emergency," FBI Special Agent Pat Villafranca said.

The first priorities were to determine whether the fetus had been born alive and to safeguard the welfare of the girl who had carried it, Chandler said.

In February, police arrested a woman who gave birth to an infant who was discovered in a restroom trash can at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital. Police said the child was alive when a custodian found him. He died several days later.

Genny Granados, 29, the mother of that infant, was charged with one count of injury to a child.

Ruth Buzi, assistant professor with the Baylor College of Medicine Teen Health Clinic, said any teen pregnancy is stressful, but the added public attention taken on by the fetus case has got to be difficult.

"That must be very frightening to a child of that age," Buzi said. "She tried to hide it; she did not expect it to become such a public affair."

She is likely also wondering how her family, friends and the community will react, Buzi said.

"I can only imagine what kind of stress she is under now, knowing that she is subjected to a police investigation, fearful that her name will be known to the community," she said. "I'm sure she is devastated."

Chronicle reporter Terri Langford contributed to this report.

As you all guessed, it was seemingly unintentional. Here's hope this child's name is kept out of the news.

[Zixinus]

If she is indeed 14 years old, then this is going to be one hell of a lesson for her about birth control.