America. Should Roe v. Wade ever bernoverturned, states and muuicipalities willrnonee again be free to pass legislation regulatingrnabortion. How will the weakestrnand most vulnerable fare in America’srnheartland? Kelli Move and the people ofrnBoone County, Illinois, have provided usrna chilling answer.rnPoplar Grove, Illinois, some 14 milesrnnortheast of Rockford on Highway 173,rnhas a population of only 750. Fields ofrncorn and soybeans surround the smallrntown. Tractors heading to the fields oftenrnclog the highway in the fall as lines of carsrnmake their way from Rockford to Edwards’rnOrchard on the northeast side ofrntown, near North Boone High School.rnKelli Moye was a sophomore at NorthrnBoone in the winter of 1996 when, onrnthe frigid morning of February 9, sherngave birth to a daughter in her bedroom.rnAfter her mom and dad, Jim and SuernMoye, went to work at a nearby auto factory,rnshe cleaned and dressed her six-anda-rnhalf-pound daughter in a worn sleeper,rnwrapped her in a towel, and scamperedrnthrough the next-door neighbors’ yard.rnShe carefully covered her tracks in thernsnow with imprints she made with her father’srnboots. Then, between a snow-coveredrntractor and the neighbors’ backrnporch, she lay her daughter down forrneternal sleep in the subzero wind.rnWhen the neighbors found the newbornrntwo days later, she was frozen solid;rnher body heat had melted a halo in diernsnow around her. The townspeople werernshocked and outraged. They gathered atrnthe Poplar Grove United MethodistrnGhureh, down the street from Kelli’srnhome. “What name do you give thisrnchild?” asked the Rev. Mary Lundgrenrnof the United Ghureh of Christ of Belvidere.rn”Angelica Faith Grove,” repliedrnthe standing-room-only crowd. Theyrnnamed her after the town, and because ofrnthe cherubic look on her tiny face capturedrnin press photos. Kelli and her parentsrnwere among the congregation.rnMove’s parents deny knowing that shernhad been pregnant. Her teachers at NorthrnBoone said she looked normal. She toldrnthe police that she hid her shape with bagg)’rnand oversized clothes. Not even ftie baby’srnfather (Kelli’s boyfriend, MichaelrnMirshak) knew she was expecting.rnIn the months after the baby wasrnkilled, Moye caused a ruckus at school,rnaccusing other girls of being the motherrnof the abandoned child. Meanwhile, investigatorsrncleared suspects connected tornthe neighbors’ house. The truth wouldrnremain hidden for three-and-a-half years.rnHaving graduated from North Boone,rnMoye and Mirshak were cohabiting inrnPoplar Grove. One night, Michael —rnwho has over a half-dozen arrests for pett)’rntheft and burglar)’—beat up on Kelli.rnRetreating to her old bedroom in her parents’rnhome for solace, she showed themrnher bruises. Wlien Michael came to getrnKelli, the Mo’es ftircatened to call ftie localrnpolice. Michael told them that theyrnwoidd regret calling in the law, makingrncr’pHc references to their daughter’s darkrnsecret. Kelli confessed her sin, and a tearfulrnMr. Moye called local police, who arrestedrnboth Kelli and Michael. AfterrnC[uestioning, Mr. Mirshak was releasedrnon a S5,()()() bond.rnThe press descended upon the tinyrnhamlet. ABC News, CNN, and all of diernnational papers reported on the “eheerleader-rnthin” mom who left her baby outrnin die snow to “die, apparcndy of exposure”rnin the freezing weather. A trial wasrnset in Belvidere, the seat of Boone Count)’,rnsoutheast of Rockford.rnMiss Moye, on the advice of her publicrndefender, Azhar Minlias, pled notrnguilh’. Prosecutors, calling her a “cold,rncalculated killer,” charged her with MurderrnOne. As the trial unfolded, her attorneyrnargued that Kelli (now 20) had arnlearning disorder, that she was a “scaredrnkid,” and that “At the time, she didn’trnknow any better.”rnWhen Kelli Moye took ftie stand, sherntried stoically to characterize the eventsrnof riiat frigid night and morning. She hadrncut the umbilical cord with a pair ofrnhousehold scissors. She claimed that shernhoped the neighbors, despite the howlingrnwind, would hear die baby’s cries andrnrescue her. The prosecutor responded,rn”Wliy didn’t you just have an abortion?”rnMoye replied, “I don’t believe in it.”rnMirshak, serving as a prosecutorial witness,rnexpressed outrage to the media.rn”That was my daughter,” he said. Moyernhad cleared him, admithng to prosecutorsrnthat she had kept her secret evenrnfrom him because she wanted to keeprnhim as her boyfriend.rnMeanwhile, the townsfolk of PoplarrnGrove began to repent of their longingrnfor justice. “She’s suffered enough,” onernkindhearted lady told reporters, referringrnto Kelli. Fearing a not-guilty verdict onrnMurder One, attorneys for die prosecutionrnoffered the jury the unthinkablernoption of involuntary manslaughter —rnwhich they c[uickly accepted, returningrntheir verdict. After all, ?00 citizens of ]rnPoplar Grove and surrounding areas hadrnsigned a petition, insisting poor Kelli hadrnbeen punished enough.rnA bewildered prosecution team insistedrnthey would get an extended sentencernof up to ten years for Moye —instead ofrnthe mandator)’ two to five for involuntar)’rnmanslaughter. Judge Rosemary Collinsrnhanded down her sentence on Septemberrn6, 2000. Wliat is ftie life of a precious babyrngid worth to ftie people of Boone Countv?rnP’our years. Actually, with time served andrngood behavior, Moye’s attorney assures usrnshe’ll be out in less than one.rnNow, when folks drive out to the applernorchard for some cider doughnuts andrnjonagolds, they pass by a sniaft graveyardrnwhere you can find a black headstonernthat reads: “I was born healthy on a cold,rnwinter day and then abandoned in arnstranger’s back yard.” Buried alongsidernlittle Angelica is ftie soul of Poplar Grovernand Boone County, Illinois.rnAs I watched each of the horrifying detailsrnof this stor)’ unfold over the past fewrnyears, I though about how I’d passedrnby that cemeter)’ scores of times since Irnwas a kid, on iny way to the orchard. I amrnalso familiar with North Boone HighrnSchool, having been a substitute teacherrnthere. It was at North Boone, in thernspring of 1995, that I vowed never to subrnin public schools again. I had been givenrnthe assignment of showing a video ofrnJohn Malkovich in The Glass Menageriernto the Fnglish literature class. One of thernboys had snuck into the room ahead ofrntime and popped an “adult” video intornthe VCR. Fortunately, during the lunchrnhour, I attempted to preview The GlassrnMenagerie, ftiwarting the potentially horrifyingrnmoment. My vow, however,rncame not then, but when I hauled thernguilfy parfy down to the principal’s office,rnalong with his tape. I don’t rememberrnftie boy’s name or the principal’s, but I’llrnnever forget the principal’s response: “I’llrngive it back to him at the end of ftie day.”rn”I’m sorry?” I protested, as the boyrngiggled.rn”Look,” he said, motioning to the boyrnto go back to class. “You’re just a sub.rnYou should expect this sort of thing. Justrnmake sure they don’t kill each other inrnthere.” I left his office, red-faced and angr)’,rnand went right out the door.rnWhen I learned about the young girlrnfrom Poplar Grove, it occurred to me thatrnI might have had Kelli Moye in one ofrnmy classes that day. Whether I had orrnnot, it all made a little more sense to me,rnlaving witnessed the chaotic atmospherern38/CHRONICLESrnrnrn