A woman in Indiana was sentenced to 20 years in prison last week under the state's feticide law. 

Purvi Patel's case is the first in the country, and has drawn controversy from reproductive health advocates. 

The 33-year-old hid her pregnancy from her strict Hindu parents, and gave birth at their home in July 2013. She alleges that the baby was stillborn, and she put it in a dumpster before going to St Joseph Regional Medical Center.

The baby's age was disputed by the defense and prosecution, but experts placed it between 23 and 30 weeks. They also argued whether the baby was born alive, and conducted a controversial "float test" of the baby's lungs to support the argument that it took at least one breath. 

Patel ordered abortion pills from Hong Kong, and texted her friend saying she had taken them. However, there was no trace of the pills in her system, or the baby's. The jury believed that she did ingest the abortifacients, and convicted her of feticide.

Patel was also convicted of child neglect after the jury found the baby was born alive, and the mother made no attempt to save it. Prosecutors said the feticide and child neglect charges are not contradictory because an attempted feticide is enough for a conviction. 

Women's health advocates said that the Patel case set a disturbing precedent for women who suffer stillbirths and miscarriages. 

"Prosecutors in Indiana are using this very sad situation to establish that intentional abortions as well as unintentional pregnancy losses should be punished as crimes," said Lynn Paltrow, executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women.

"No woman should be arrested for the outcome of her pregnancy."

Patel plans to appeal the decision.