September 19, 2007

Former Athlete at Mercyhurst College Charged With Killing Her Newborn Baby

A former women’s volleyball player at Mercyhurst College was charged on Tuesday with homicide for allegedly suffocating her baby minutes after giving birth last month. The student, Teri Rhodes, never told anyone she was pregnant, but had searched the Internet for “herbal abortion techniques” and “what can kill a fetus,” the Times-News, a newspaper in Erie, Pa., reported.

The 18-year-old sophomore underwent a physical examination on August 10, and the doctor asked if she was pregnant, according to the newspaper. Ms. Rhodes said she didn’t think so. The doctor cleared her to play volleyball, and she practiced with the team that day.

Two days later, she gave birth to a baby girl in the bathroom of her campus apartment. She placed the infant in a plastic bag in the bathtub, news reports said. Her roommate, worried about noises coming from the bathroom, had called the assistant volleyball coach, who insisted on taking Ms. Rhodes to the hospital.

Ms. Rhodes was arraigned on multiple charges on Tuesday and could face life in prison if she is convicted.

Concern that some pregnant college athletes may feel pressure to have abortions prompted the NCAA to review its guidelines on pregnancy this year, and new guidance is in the works. Many colleges do not have policies to protect pregnant athletes, who may worry, among other things, that they could lose their scholarships.

Officials at Mercyhurst, a small Roman Catholic college in northwestern Pennsylvania, declined to comment on the case. The athletic director did not respond to calls today. In a written statement, the college said: “Never can we avert every tragedy. They are a part of life.” —Sara Lipka

Comments

1. A doctor gave her an examination, “asks” her if she is pregnant two days before she gives birth, and takes “no” for the correct answer????? What’s wrong with this picture? It’s absurd on the face of it, and if it’s true the doctor should lose his/her license.

   — marci    Sep 21, 01:25 PM    #

2. I’m curious if it was the campus doctor/health center who performed the examination? As a former student of Mercyhurst, I know I’ve had bad luck in terms of misdiagnosis with a couple of things. How did the doctor not see that she was pregnant? that is beyond me.

   — Lindsay    Sep 21, 10:28 PM    #

3. I am also a former student athlete of Mercyhurst and am still involved closely with the athletic department. Teri received a sports physical by the school doctors in order to be cleared to play. However, they are not the doctors that you would have seen if you went to the campus health center. They have Doctors that are contracted out of Saint Vincent and are sports doctors.

   — unknown    Sep 22, 08:28 AM    #

4. Does Pennsylvania charge a girl with a crime if she abandons her baby? Which is better, Pennsylvania legislators: abandonment, or murder?

   At least Delaware and Maryland, thanks to the outrage of the public and some high-profile baby murder cases, have changed their laws to decriminalize baby abandonment and instead created “safe baby havens” so a desperate young girl can drop her newborn off at a hospital, church, crisis pregnancy center or social services, no questions asked. We mothers lobbied hard for that legislation, to help girls in her situation.

   — Marie    Sep 22, 10:23 PM    #

5. regardless of any physical examination results or concern that athletes are pressured to get abortions…THIS TEEN INTENTIONALLY KILLED HER NEWBORN BABY. POLICE HAVE ALREADY DISCOVERED THAT SHE RESEARCHED “How To Kill a Fetus” ON HER PERSONAL COMPUTER, SHE’S GUIILTY!!!

   — smartguy    Sep 23, 12:05 AM    #

6. Well, obviously, her parents did not educate her on the facts of life. I am so pissed off at this girl. Once again, we have a person who could ace the SAT, but can not do a simple thing as give a baby a fighting chance at life. Meaning give the baby up for adoption or to a hospital. All she had to do is walk in a hand the baby over. No questions asked. Well, now we have a dead kid and no one seems to give a damn. I do. Another soul lost because of her selfish attitude. Only concerned about her sports. Yeah great. Well, she can kiss her life for the future goodbye. You think she will be trusted again with another child? She should be thrown in the slammer and have her tubes tide. I am just disgusted by the whole thing. How could she do it?? Babies are the most precious things on the planet and people just throw them away like meat. I just don’t get it. Her mindset was only on herself and didn’t care about the life that grew inside her. I just wished she reached out to someone and said that she was pregnant and did not want the child. I understand that she is 18 and scared; however, she had no right to kill. She should of given the baby a fighting chance at life.

   — Jenn    Sep 23, 11:24 PM    #

7. this is absolutely disgusting, idk how someone could do this to their own child. and how could she have hidden the pregnancy??? i agree with marci, the doctor shouldn’t have his license if he couldnt tell that she was pregnant two days before she went into labor. this girl needs help, i just don’t understand how someone could have done that. its f***ed up

   — courtney    Sep 24, 08:47 AM    #

8. to “Jenn”
   mabe you should take into account some of teri’s loved ones. What Teri did was wrong but there is no reason for you to be disrespectful about it. Saying things like “she should have her tubes tied and thrown in jail” probably isnt something people close to Teri want to read. I think you should take other peoples feelings into acount before you voice your opinion, and hopefully next time you can voice your opinion in a more respectful way.

   — Jc285    Sep 24, 07:52 PM    #

9. what i don’t understand is how could she hide this while playing volleyball? i’ve known girls that have hid pregnancy and have done it well. but i also play volleyball and i know the type of uniforms that we wear. they are all spandex. how could you not see a 9 month pregnant belly through that. My sister is only 5 months pregnant and she can’t even hide that. How someone could abandon or leave their own child to die is beyond me. I wish she would have given it up for adoption because there are plenty of deserving families that can’t have children.
   And to the writer above me. I think you are ignorant because the statement that she should have her tubes tide and thrown in jail is a permisable statement. obvioulsy this girl has no respect for life so why should anyone else have respect for her? I don’t see how you can defend someone that kills their own baby like that. I know if it was my friend i wouldn’t respect them anymore than i respect a rapist or murderer.

   — Rachele    Sep 25, 12:50 PM    #

10. i think teri was only worried about her self and not her baby girl
    and that doctor should lose his job !!!!!!!!!!!!! i think that teri should be sentenced to life w/out parole .
    hell maybe even the death penaty!!!!!!!

    — kiki muhammad    Sep 26, 01:16 PM    #

11. it is indeed horrible that she did this to her baby, but it is also horrible that we live in a world where she felt forced to do so. There is no state where you can drop off a baby ANYWHERE, hospital and fire station included, where you will not face questions. They claim that this is the law, but there is another part of the law that people don’t publicize. If you look it up, it also says that by law they have to search for the mother of the child to make sure she wanted to give them up. Since when is that no questions? we need a new system where people really can give up their children with no chance of being found afterwards. The laws you people are talking about are complete jokes.

    — tiana    Sep 30, 12:36 AM    #

12. If Teri’s loved ones are okay with her killing her newborn, why should some stranger’s opinions bother them? What she did was wrong, plain and simple. It was selfish and it was murder. She should be trated as such.

    — Marcy    Oct 1, 10:15 AM    #

13. This whole thing makes me sick. Something needs to be done. This is happening way to often. Everytime you turn the news on, someone has killed an innocent child. I will never understand garbage like this. Where is the love that is supposed to0 come natural. Even anamals take care of their young. I don’t care how young she was or how many sports she played, there is no excuse. I was 16 years old when my first baby was born and I have loved him from day one. It is real simple, If you don;t want your baby, take it to hospital, police station, or for God sakes even a door step is better than murder. There is to many people out there that can’t have children that would gladly take a child and raise it. God help these people!!!

    — Penny    Oct 3, 04:05 PM    #

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