Woman faces Texas murder charge after self-induced abortion

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas — A 26-year-old lady has been charged with homicide in Texas after authorities mentioned she induced “the dying of a person by self-induced abortion,” in a state that has essentially the most restrictive abortion legal guidelines within the U.S.

The video above is from a earlier report.

It is unclear whether or not Lizelle Herrera is accused of getting an abortion or whether or not she helped another person get an abortion.

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Herrera was arrested Thursday and remained jailed Saturday on a $500,000 bond within the Starr County jail in Rio Grande Metropolis, on the U.S.-Mexico border, sheriff’s Maj. Carlos Delgado mentioned in an announcement.

“Herrera was arrested and served with an indictment on the cost of Homicide after Herrera did then and there deliberately and knowingly trigger the dying of a person by self-induced abortion,” Delgado mentioned.

Delgado didn’t say below what regulation Herrera has been charged. He mentioned no different data will likely be launched till a minimum of Monday as a result of the case stays below investigation.

Texas regulation exempts her from a felony murder cost for aborting her personal being pregnant, College of Texas regulation professor Stephen Vladeck instructed The Related Press.

“(Murder) does not apply to the homicide of an unborn baby if the conduct charged is ‘conduct dedicated by the mom of the unborn baby,’” Vladeck mentioned.

A 2021 state regulation that bans abortions in Texas for girls who’re as early as six weeks pregnant has sharply curtailed the variety of abortions within the state. The regulation leaves enforcement to non-public residents who can sue docs or anybody who helps a lady get an abortion.

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The girl receiving the abortion is exempted from the regulation.

Nonetheless, some states nonetheless have legal guidelines that criminalize self-induced abortions “and there have been a handful of prosecutions right here and there over time,” Vladeck mentioned.

“It’s homicide in Texas to take steps that terminate a fetus, however when a medical supplier does it, it may’t be prosecuted” as a consequence of U.S. Supreme Court docket rulings upholding the constitutionality of abortion, Vladeck mentioned.

One other Texas regulation prohibits docs and clinics from prescribing abortion-inducing medicines after the seventh week of being pregnant and prohibits supply of the tablets by mail.

Treatment abortions will not be thought-about self-induced below federal Meals and Drug Administration laws, Vladeck mentioned.

“You possibly can solely obtain the treatment below medical supervision,” in line with Vladeck. “I understand this sounds bizarre as a result of you’re taking the tablet your self, however it’s below a suppliers’ a minimum of theoretical care.”

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In Rio Grande Metropolis on Saturday the abortion rights group Frontera Fund referred to as for Herrera’s launch.

“We do not but know all the small print surrounding this tragic occasion,” mentioned Rockie Gonzales, founder and board chair of of the group.

“What we do know is that criminalizing pregnant folks’s selections or being pregnant outcomes, which the state of Texas has completed, takes away folks’s autonomy over their very own our bodies, and leaves them with no protected choices after they select to not turn into a mum or dad.” Rockie mentioned.

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Miller reported from Oklahoma Metropolis and Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas. Related Press reporter Juan Lozano in Houston contributed to this report.