Bail raised for woman in abortion case

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 22 (UPI) -- A Florida public defender says he will appeal a judge's decision to raise the bail of woman accused of aborting her daughter's baby from $14,000 to $185,000.

The charges against Tonuya Rainey, 38, of Miramar, Fla., so outraged Broward Judge John Hurley that he imposed the much higher bail, drawing a shocked response from Rainey and a vow from public defender Howard Finkelstein to appeal the decision, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Sunday.

"I believe that what has allegedly occurred is tantamount to murder," Hurley reportedly said at a Friday bond hearing. "So I'm going to set a bond in that regard and consistent with my feelings."

"When it comes to issues of abortion and children dying, emotions are passionate and strong," Finkelstein told the newspaper. "And judges cannot act like everyday people on those emotions."

Prosecutors say Rainey gave her 16-year-old daughter a combination of drugs that ended the pregnancy, disposing of the fetus in a plastic garbage bag. A search warrant alleged Rainey's daughter told police the fetus was breathing and moving its arms after birth, the Sun-Sentinel reported.