US woman tries to trick rival into abortion

An American woman pleaded guilty to assault on Wednesday for tricking her husband's mistress, who was pregnant, into taking an abortion pill.

Kisha Jones, of New York, faces up to four years in jail for trying to forcibly abort the foetus of Monique Hunter, who was having an affair with Jones' husband Anthony in 2009, her defence attorney Barry Turner said.

Jones, 40, telephoned Hunter pretending to be calling from her doctor's office and told the woman she needed to take a pill called Cytocec. Jones faked a prescription and sent it to a local pharmacy, the attorney said.

Hunter took the pill, which induced early labor but did not trigger an abortion, he said.

The baby was born prematurely but is in good health, he said.

Jones, who is still married to her husband, also was pregnant when she learned that her husband's mistress was pregnant too, said her attorney.

"My client was crazed over this whole thing," Turner said. "Around the 27th week of her pregnancy, she basically lost it and got Monique Hunter to take an abortion pill."

She is scheduled to be sentenced February 10 in Brooklyn criminal court.