“The issues surrounding this issue are clearly controversial, but under Texas law and the facts presented, it is not a criminal matter,” Ramirez said in a statement. Ramirez will ask a judge on Monday to drop the murder charge against a woman who allegedly had an abortion. Herrera was arrested Thursday in the city of Rio Grande after a major Star county court indicted her on March 30 for murder for causing the death of a fetus or fetus through self-induced abortion. The Starr County Sheriff’s Office did its job only to arrest, said Ramirez, who represents Starr County, Jim Hogg and Duval. “It’s clear that the Starr County Sheriff’s Department has done its job of investigating the incident brought to them by the Referral Hospital. “Ignoring the incident would be a breach of duty,” he said. “The prosecutor’s discretion belongs to the prosecutor’s office and in the State of Texas the prosecutor’s oath is to administer justice. “After this oath, the only right result in this matter is to immediately reject the indictment against Ms. Herrera.” Ramirez added: “… It is clear to me that the events leading up to this indictment have affected Mrs Herrera and her family. “Ignoring this fact would be short-sighted.” IMPORTANT: The prosecutor who accused #LizelleHerrera of murder for “self-induced abortion” withdraws the charges. “The issues surrounding this issue are clearly controversial, but under Texas law and the facts presented, it is not a criminal matter.” pic.twitter.com/0ICPy8QHJP – Eleanor Klibanoff (@eklib) April 10, 2022 Ramirez’s announcement came after Major Carlos Delgado of the Starr County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday night that Herrera, 26, had been released on $ 500,000 bail. Delgado said a local confessor published the bond about Herrera. Herrera’s arrest has sparked a tsunami of rage in Star County and much of the country. Following the news on Friday afternoon, members of the Frontera Fund – an organization that aims to make abortion more accessible to citizens of the Rio Grande Valley – staged a protest Saturday at Starr County Jail, where Herrera was held until her release later Saturday night. “We are simply raising awareness of this issue and informing Starr County Jail that we demand the immediate release of Lizelle Herrera,” said Cathy Torres, Frontera Fund’s organizing director. “She is being criminalized because of the results of her pregnancy and that is not right.” After learning of Herrera’s release, the Frontera Fund said on Twitter and in a press release that it has a legal adviser and that the organization has also started a fundraising and reconciliation fund for her and her family. In a statement Saturday, Frontera Fund founder and board chairman Rockie Gonzalez said the group wants public officials to know that “we will not allow you to intimidate innocent families, we will bring the (foreground) to you and your actions and all those who confirm you. “We will shed light on you as you did with Liesel and her family.” Little information has been published about what led to Herrera’s arrest on Thursday. According to an indictment received by The Monitor, Herrera is accused of “deliberately and knowingly provoking him [sic] the death of a JAH individual, from self-induced abortion ”. When asked about her reaction to the news of Herrera’s arrest, Torres said it made her feel sick to her stomach. “To be blamed for something so huge and big – something like murder – because she made a decision for herself is completely wrong,” Torres said. “This is just another example of how the state legislature, the city government and the people against the election just want to take away our physical autonomy. “They want to control the decisions we want to make with our bodies, and that’s not right.” Melissa Arjona, president and founder of South Texans for Reproductive Justice, was also on standby Saturday to show support for Herrera. “It is worrying that someone from the valley is setting an example, especially after all the laws have been passed,” Arjona said. “We will see a greater focus on this law.” Arjona was referring to Senate Bill 8, which was passed in the Texas Legislature on May 19, 2021 and went into effect on September 1, 2021. The law allows individuals to sue anyone who has had or assisted in an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. Details about Herrera’s arrest remain sparse. It is not known what led to her arrest. However, the indictment refers to the date of January 7, when the “self-induced abortion” allegedly took place. Meghan Lowrey, a PhD candidate from Dallas, also attended Saturday’s protest. She lives in the Valley to investigate transgenderism and how legislation such as SB 8 and anti-immigration legislation affect reproductive health. “I heard about it last night and it was shocking,” Lowrey said. “We do not have all the information yet, which is part of the problem, which I think is really important because people are really scared. “No one really knows what they can and cannot do because if it is based on the six-week rule and it did so at seven weeks, it should not be legally allowed to be arrested.” Lowrey also described Herrera’s $ 500,000 bond as shocking. “I think all of this is important for me to come down and show my support,” Lowrey said. “Across the state, most women feel the same way, that this is a dangerous precedent being set.” The case quickly attracted national interest. Dallas’s lawyer Domingo Garcia, a former city councilor and state representative who is now president of the United Citizens Association of Latin America, also expressed concern about the arrest, before and after the prosecutor’s announcement. “This situation should not be turned into an impressive title for political gain. “Families should decide on women’s health and pregnancy issues under the guidance of the clergy, not the criminal courts,” Garcia said in a statement on Saturday. On Sunday, it said in a new statement that “LULAC welcomes the decision of the Starr County Attorney to recognize and respect the legal principles that apply to this young Latina.” However, Garcia added, “this public embarrassment and criminal prosecution of a Latina under the guise of the law underscores the very desperate situation that some women in Texas face if they cannot access legal abortion services because they cannot afford it. travel expenses. The injustice is that for women who can pay, their process remains private and out of the limelight. “For those women who are poor, their difficult decision turns into a public and even criminal spectacle.” Lizelle Herrera is currently being held in a $ 500,000 Texas jail on charges of manslaughter for allegedly causing an abortion. Reported after medical care. This is what future extremist anti-abortion activists want – we can not let it stand. (1/2) https://t.co/L6ICOToe6g – Buffy Wicks (@BuffyWicks) April 9, 2022 Texas and nationally elected officials opposed to SB 8 have criticized the arrest. California State Assemblyman Buffy Wicks posted on Twitter the impact of SB 8 on the abortion debate as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs its verdict in a case challenging Roe v. Wade, the case by the County of Dallas, which effectively legalized abortion rights nationally. “This is the future that extremist anti-abortion activists want – we can not let it stand,” Wicks wrote. Texas State Representative Erin Zwiener D-Driftwood said the public should learn more about the details of Herrera’s arrest, “but I can not imagine a scenario that does not involve illegal and immoral behavior by anyone involved. in her arrest. “ We need more information about this injustice, but I can not imagine a scenario that does not involve illegal and immoral behavior by anyone involved in its capture. There is * no * law in Texas criminalizing self-abortion.https: //t.co/SmsfwwpzrZ – Erin Zwiener (@ErinForYall) April 8, 2022 Republicans and others who supported the SB 8 vote have repeatedly defended the law, saying it has saved the lives of unborn children. Proponents of the new restrictions, which began on September 1, also note that the legislation has withstood legal challenges and that other states are passing similar bills. “We are grateful that the law remains in place and saves lives every day,” said Sen. Bryan Hughes, the Republican Mineola who drafted the law, following a recent decision that helped keep SB 8 afloat. Idaho became the first state to pass abortion law under SB 8 as the governor signed the bill last month, a day after the Oklahoma State House passed an almost complete ban that would ban abortion in addition to save the mother’s life. Assistant Political Editor John Gravois contributed to this report, which features material from The Monitor in McAllen and the Associated Press.
