Murder charges against a Texas woman who allegedly committed a “self-induced abortion” will be dropped.
Gocha Allen Ramirez, the district attorney who filed the charges against Lizelle Herrera, announced on Sunday he is filing a motion to dismiss them.
“In reviewing applicable Texas law, it is clear that Ms. Herrera cannot and should not be prosecuted for the allegation against her,” Ramirez said in a press release. Ramirez is the district attorney for Starr, Jim Hogg, and Duval counties.
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BREAKING: The District Attorney who charged #LizelleHerrera with murder for a “self-induced abortion” is dropping the charges.
“The issues surrounding this matter are clearly contentious, however based on Texas law and the facts presented, it is not a criminal matter.” pic.twitter.com/0ICPy8QHJP
— Eleanor Klibanoff (@eklib) April 10, 2022
“The issues surrounding this matter are contentious,” Ramirez added. “However, based on Texas law and the facts presented, it is not a criminal matter.”
Lizelle Herrera, 26, was arrested Thursday by the Starr County Sheriff’s Office on murder charges and is behind bars on a $500,000 bond, Texas Public Radio reported.
Herrera “intentionally and knowingly caused the death of an individual by self-induced abortion,” a spokesperson for the Starr County Sheriff’s Office told CBS 4 and NBC 23 in its initial statement. The arrest occurred in Texas, which has some of the strictest abortion laws in the United States.
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Texas passed the “Heartbeat” act in 2021, which prohibits abortions in the state after six weeks of gestation except for medical emergencies. Rather than having law enforcement attempt to enforce the law, the bill relied on private actors to file civil lawsuits against those who help terminate a woman’s pregnancy.
Although the law does not allow private actors to sue the mother who underwent the abortion, it does not explicitly define how to handle women who perform self-induced abortions.
Ramirez expressed support for Herrera’s family and said that his office will “continue to communicate with counsel for Ms. Hererra in order to bring this matter to a close.”
