Woman reportedly given abortion pills disguised as supplements

A Massachusetts man was charged Tuesday after being accused of cheating a pregnant woman with whom he took abortion pills, which he disguised as iron supplements and vitamins, The Watertown Police Department made the announcement.

Robert Kawada, 43, of Brookline, pleaded not guilty to several charges, including poisoning and battery with a dangerous weapon on a pregnant person. Authorities allege he secretly gave his ex-girlfriend pills intended to terminate her pregnancy, including misoprostol, the announcement said.

Misoprostol is usually combined with another drug, mifepristone, to help pregnant people safely induce an abortion before the 16th week of pregnancy. It could also be so used on its own to terminate a pregnancy.

According to a probable cause statement cited by NBC affiliate WBTS in Boston, Kawada and the woman, whose name has not been made public, met on a dating app in January and had a few dates before ending the relationship in March.

The woman later discovered she was pregnant, and the two met several more times over the course of six weeks, WBTS reported.

During these meetings, Kawada “would make assurances,” citing his experience with his ex-wife’s pregnancy and saying that his father was a gynecologist, according to a police report cited by WCVB-TV in Boston.

But Kawada allegedly tried to end the pregnancy by giving her homemade cookies made with raspberry leaves, which could induce labor. The National Library of Medicine says research on the ability to terminate a pregnancy is “underdeveloped” and “weak.”

The victim was also allegedly given pills disguised as prenatal supplements, WCVB reported.

During Kawada’s arraignment on Tuesday, prosecutor Jacob McCrindle claimed he “instructed the victim how to take the pills in a certain way,” similar to the way abortion drugs are prescribed. WHDH-TV in Boston reported.

McCrindle also said the woman received calls from someone claiming to be a nurse from her doctor’s office, and that the woman on the phone told her to take the pills she received from Kawada, according to WHDH.

During their last meeting, Kawada reportedly said he wanted her to have an abortion, claiming his mother’s recent death was somehow related to her anger over the pregnancy, according to WBTS. But the woman claimed she wanted to keep and raise the baby without Kawada’s involvement.

The woman later suffered severe cramps and some bleeding, which medical staff confirmed was a miscarriage. WBTS reported. She reportedly tried to call the person claiming to be a nurse, only to discover that she was not from her doctor’s office and that it had been a ruse.

When she told her family what happened, they called the police the next day, May 2, WBTS reported.

The woman allegedly gave investigators a pill that she said she saved from the trash and gave them Kawada’s information, according to WBTS.

During an interview with police, Kawada allegedly stated that he had given the woman vitamin C and iron supplements that he ordered from Amazon, WBTS reported, but information collected from his phone showed that he had called an online pharmacy that sells misoprostol.

Dmitry Lev, Kawada’s attorney, told WHDH that he and his client “look forward to a full investigation of the case and a fair jury trial.”

Need help? In the US you can call 1-866-331-9474 or text ‘loveis’ to 22522 for the National Dating Abuse Helpline.