Doctor indicted in syringe attack

NEW YORK -- A Bronx doctor who allegedly stabbed his pregnant lover with a drug-filled syringe to induce an abortion was indicted on two counts of assault and one count of abortion, the Bronx district attorney said Wednesday.

Dr. Stephen Pack, 44, of suburban Chappaqua, remained free on $100,000 bail after his arraignment before state Supreme Court Justice Ira Globerman, said District Attorney Robert Johnson.

The married physician allegedly told the victim "I'm giving you an abortion" before repeatedly stabbing her in the thigh and buttocks on April 14, the indictment said.

The syringe contained a chemical that can trigger contractions in pregnant women. If convicted, Pack could face up to seven years in prison.

Pack, an emergency room physician at Montefiore Medical Center, allegedly assaulted 31-year-old Joy Schepis in a parking lot outside the facility. The pediatric nurse was pregnant with the doctor's child when the assault occurred, Johnson said.

Schepis, who is still pregnant, plans to deliver the baby despite the risk of birth defects caused by the injection. She is the mother of a 2-year-old boy.

The defendant was due back in court Sept. 5.

A spokesman for Johnson said the charge of abortion comes from a statute that bans abortions performed without a woman's consent.