HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A man charged with the attempted murder of his wife’s unborn baby told police he was “just trying to stop something from progressing,” according to charging documents.

Ibrahim Beidari, 33, of West Hanover Township, said he didn’t know for certain his wife was pregnant but had suspicions when he vaginally inserted the abortion drug Misoprostol without her knowledge or consent during intercourse, the criminal complaint states.

Beidari’s wife was treated at a hospital for bleeding and pain associated with the drug. She told police she learned she was 12 weeks pregnant during an OB-GYN visit seven days earlier but had not yet told her husband.

The expected survival of the fetus remains unknown, police wrote in the complaint.

Beidari is employed as a nurse practitioner. He also is charged with aggravated assault of an unborn child, simple assault, and reckless endangerment.

He was placed in Dauphin County Prison on $250,000 bail pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 1.