Man Who Stabbed Pregnant Girlfriend Going to Prison for Performing Abortion, Though Child Survived

This is a strange one:

Sean Brown, 20, of Albany pleaded guilty Friday in Rensselaer County Court to one count each of abortion and assault. He will be sentenced June 2 to prison terms of 11 years for assault and one to three years for abortion, prosecutors said.

Abortion is illegal in New York if it causes or intends to cause a miscarriage without the woman's consent, or if it is performed by someone other than a licensed physician.

Brown lunged at Cashawnda Rowlett in her darkened apartment and stabbed her 10 times in the fingers, thigh, hip and abdomen shortly after she told him she was two months pregnant, police said. The July 2003 attack left her permanently injured and disfigured.

Rowlett was only two months pregnant at the time of the attack, and her child was eventually born healthy and is now four months old. What gives with the abortion charge? Details here from the AP via ABCNews.com.