When Michael Fletcher was implicated in his wife's death, prosecutors charged him under the 1998 statute as well, arguing that Leann Fletcher's murder had been prompted by her husband's desire to conceal her pregnancy from Chrzanowski. But because she died before her unborn fetus could be expelled, neither a miscarriage nor a stillbirth had taken place. Michael Fletcher's lawyers moved to dismiss the lesser charge, and then-Oakland Circuit Judge Jessica Cooper reluctantly agreed. The dismissal made little practical difference to Michael Fletcher, who still faces a lifetime behind bars. But prosecutors say Cooper's ruling exposed weaknesses in the statute that need to be addressed.
Most legislators agree.
There is no need for such a destructive fight. People on both sides of the abortion debate agree that Roe v. Wade should not license third-party assailants to destroy someone else's fetus with impunity. If legislators focus on closing the Fletcher loophole, a quick fix is at hand. But if anti-abortion lawmakers press for expansive language that confers new legal status on the unborn, an initiative that enjoys broad support in principle could bog down in a pointless propaganda war. Michiganders, not to mention Leann Fletcher's survivors, deserve better.