It was not clear if Lizelle Herrera was accused of having an abortion or if she helped someone else have an abortion. Herrera was arrested Thursday and released on $ 500,000 bail on Saturday at Starr County Jail in Rio Grande City, on the U.S.-Mexico border, said Sheriff Carlos Delgado. “Herrera was arrested and charged with murder, as Herrera deliberately and knowingly caused the death of a man from a self-inflicted abortion,” Delgado said. Delgado did not say by which law Herrera was charged. He said no further information would be released until at least Monday, as the case remains under investigation. Texas law excludes Herrera from the homicide charge for having a miscarriage, said University of Texas law professor Steven Vladek. Homicide “does not apply to the murder of an unborn child if the conduct charged is ‘conduct committed by the mother of the unborn child,’” Vladeck said. A 2021 state law banning abortions in Texas for women who are 6 weeks pregnant has drastically reduced the number of abortions in the state. The law leaves it to individuals who can sue doctors or anyone who helps a woman have an abortion. A woman who receives an abortion is exempt from the law. Another Texas law forbids doctors and clinics from prescribing drugs that cause miscarriage after the seventh week of pregnancy and prohibits the delivery of pills by mail. However, some states still have laws criminalizing self-induced abortions “and there have been a handful of prosecutions here and there over the years,” Vladeck said, adding: a doctor does it, he can not be prosecuted “because of the decisions of the US Supreme Court that support the constitutionality of abortion. Lynn Paltrow, executive director of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, also noted the exception to state law. “What’s a little mysterious in this case is, what crime has this woman been charged with?” said Paltrow. “There is no law in Texas that, even in person, allows a woman to conceive for a self-administered abortion.” Another Texas law forbids doctors and clinics from prescribing drugs that cause miscarriage after the seventh week of pregnancy and prohibits the delivery of pills by mail. Drug abortions are not considered self-inflicted under federal Food and Drug Administration regulations, Vladeck said. “You can only take the medicine under medical supervision,” Vladeck said. “I realize this sounds strange because you are taking the pill yourself, but it is under the theoretical care of at least one provider.” In the city of Rio Grande on Saturday, the abortion rights group Frontera Fund demanded the release of Herrera. “We do not yet know all the details about this tragic event,” said Rockie Gonzales, founder and chairman of the organization’s board. “What we do know is that criminalizing the choices or pregnancy outcomes of pregnant women, made by the state of Texas, takes away people’s autonomy over their bodies and leaves them with no safe choices when they choose not to become parents,” he said. Gonzalez. he said. Nancy Cárdenas Peña, Texas director of policy and advocacy for the Latina National Institute of Reproductive Justice, said in a statement that abortion should be available on the woman’s terms where she feels most comfortable. “Allowing the use of criminal law against people who have terminated their pregnancies does not serve any legitimate state purpose, but it can do great harm to young people, people with lower incomes and colored communities, who are more likely to encounter or refer to law enforcement, “Peña said.
