Murder charge dropped against Texas woman accused of self-induced abortion

TEXAS, USA — Homicide fees in opposition to a Texas lady who was mentioned to have brought about “the dying of a person by self-induced abortion” have been dropped, in keeping with District Legal professional Gocha Allen Ramirez.

Editor’s word: The above video is from a beforehand associated story.

Lizelle Herrera was arrested Thursday and jailed in Rio Grande Metropolis on the Starr County jail.

In an announcement, Ramirez mentioned that after reviewing the case that the Starr County Sheriff’s Division did their responsibility in investigating the incident after it was dropped at their consideration by a reporting hospital.

Ramirez additionally mentioned, “It’s clear to me that the occasions main as much as this indictment have taken a toll on Ms. Herrera and her household.”

Whereas it stays unclear if Herrera had an abortion or helped another person get an abortion, Ramirez mentioned that Herrera “didn’t commit a prison act” based mostly on info and Texas regulation.   

The 26-year-old lady was charged with homicide in Texas after authorities mentioned she brought about “the dying of a person by self-induced abortion,” in a state that has probably the most restrictive abortion legal guidelines within the U.S.

“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 info can be launched till no less than Monday as a result of the case stays below investigation.

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

Abortion funds carry new authorized challenges to overturn Texas ban

“(Murder) doesn’t apply to the homicide of an unborn youngster if the conduct charged is ‘conduct dedicated by the mom of the unborn youngster,’” 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 medical doctors or anybody who helps a lady get an abortion.

The lady 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 could’t be prosecuted” attributable to U.S. Supreme Court docket rulings upholding the constitutionality of abortion, Vladeck mentioned.

Lynn Paltrow, the chief director of Nationwide Advocates for Pregnant Ladies additionally famous the state regulation exemption.

“What’s a bit mysterious on this case is, what crime has this lady been charged with?” Paltrow mentioned. “There is no such thing as a statute in Texas that, even on its face, authorizes the arrest of a lady for a self-managed abortion.”

One other Texas regulation prohibits medical doctors and clinics from prescribing abortion-inducing drugs after the seventh week of being pregnant and prohibits supply of the drugs by mail.

Medicine abortions should not thought of self-induced below federal Meals and Drug Administration laws, Vladeck mentioned.

“You’ll be able to solely obtain the medicine below medical supervision,” in keeping with Vladeck. “I understand this sounds bizarre as a result of you’re taking the capsule your self, however it’s below a suppliers’ no less than theoretical care.”

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

“We don’t but know all the main points surrounding this tragic occasion,” mentioned Rockie Gonzales, founder and board chair of of the group.

After six-week ban, Texans went out of state to get abortions, new data present

“What we do know is that criminalizing pregnant folks’s decisions 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 secure choices after they select to not change into a guardian,” Gonzalez mentioned.

Nancy Cárdenas Peña, Texas State Director for Coverage and Advocacy for the Nationwide Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, mentioned in an announcement that abortion ought to be accessible on the girl’s personal phrases the place she feels most comfy.

“Permitting prison regulation for use in opposition to individuals who have ended their very own pregnancies serves no cheap state goal, however could trigger nice hurt to younger folks, folks with decrease incomes, and communities of colour, who’re probably to come across or be reported to regulation enforcement,” Peña mentioned.

Related Press reporter Juan Lozano in Houston contributed to this report.

KHOU 11 on social media: Fb | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube