Charges Dropped (Texas Self-Induced Abortion Case)

Charges Dropped (Texas Self-Induced Abortion Case)

Lizelle Herrera was arrested and charged with murder when it was believed she had an abortion while she was pregnant. Prosecutors dropped murder charges on Sunday against a 26-year-old southern Texas woman over an alleged “self-induced abortion,” admitting that no crime was committed. Lizelle was indicted in March when she miscarried and told staff at Star County hospital that she had an abortion who then reported Lizelle to the Star County Police Department. The Heartbeat Act in Texas bans getting an abortion or taking abortion pills once a heartbeat is detected which is usually around 6 weeks (about 1 and a half months) into the pregnancy, before most women know they are pregnant at all. Lizelle was arrested on a Thursday and released from jail on Saturday night when a reproductive rights activist posted her bail of $500,00. In Texas there is virtually impossible to have a physical abortion legally in the state which leaves women who wish to end their pregnancy to seek out another way. Some women travel to other states or purchase the FDA abortion pill to terminate their unwanted pregnancy. There is no law however which makes it a criminal offense to have an abortion as it is only under law considered a civil offense. “The issues surrounding this matter are clearly contentious, however based on Texas law and the facts presented, it is not a criminal matter,” Starr County District Attorney Gocha Allen Ramirez announced in his statement on Sunday. Lizelle should never have been charged or arrested but the damage to her life has already been done as her mugshot and name has been plastered in the news and across the country, the damage to her reputation has already been done.