Abortion rights supporters collect to protest Texas SB 8 in entrance of Edinburg Metropolis Corridor on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, in Edinburg, Texas. (Joel Martinez/The Monitor by way of AP)
RIO GRANDE CITY, TEXAS --
A 26-year-old girl has been charged with homicide in Texas after authorities mentioned she precipitated "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.
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.
Herrera was arrested Thursday and remained jailed Saturday on a US$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 a press release.
"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 legislation Herrera has been charged. He mentioned no different data will probably be launched till at the very least Monday as a result of the case stays below investigation.
Texas legislation exempts her from a legal murder cost for aborting her personal being pregnant, College of Texas legislation professor Stephen Vladeck informed 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 legislation 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 legislation leaves enforcement to non-public residents who can sue medical doctors or anybody who helps a girl get an abortion.
The girl receiving the abortion is exempted from the legislation.
Nonetheless, some states nonetheless have legal guidelines that criminalize self-induced abortions "and there have been a handful of prosecutions right here and there through the years," Vladeck mentioned.
"It's homicide in Texas to take steps that terminate a fetus, however when a medical supplier does it, it will probably't be prosecuted" because of U.S. Supreme Courtroom rulings upholding the constitutionality of abortion, Vladeck mentioned.
Lynn Paltrow, the manager director of Nationwide Advocates for Pregnant Girls additionally famous the state legislation exemption.
"What's a little bit mysterious on this case is, what crime has this girl been charged with?" Paltrow mentioned. "There isn't a statute in Texas that, even on its face, authorizes the arrest of a girl for a self-managed abortion."
One other Texas legislation prohibits medical doctors and clinics from prescribing abortion-inducing drugs after the seventh week of being pregnant and prohibits supply of the tablets by mail.
Remedy abortions will not be thought of self-induced below federal Meals and Drug Administration rules, Vladeck mentioned.
"You'll be able to solely obtain the remedy below medical supervision," in accordance with Vladeck. "I understand this sounds bizarre as a result of you're taking the tablet your self, however it's below a suppliers' at the very least theoretical care."
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 main points 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 decisions or being pregnant outcomes, which the state of Texas has finished, 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 dad or mum," Gonzalez mentioned.
Nancy Cardenas Pena, Texas State Director for Coverage and Advocacy for the Nationwide Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, mentioned in a press release that abortion needs to be accessible on the girl's personal phrases the place she feels most snug.
"Permitting legal legislation for use in opposition to individuals who have ended their very own pregnancies serves no affordable state objective, however might trigger nice hurt to younger folks, folks with decrease incomes, and communities of colour, who're most certainly to come across or be reported to legislation enforcement," Pena 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.
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