The Ordeal for a Texas Woman Charged with Murder over ‘Self-Induced Abortion’

11/04/2022

Jayantika Rao Tiruvaloor Viavoori

Women’s Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

Lizelle Herrera, a 26-year-old woman, was arrested on April 7 (Thursday) and was charged with murder in Texas. Sherrif’s Maj. Carlos Delgado informed the Press that “she caused the death of an individual by self-induced abortion” (Wallace, 2022). Lizelle Herrera was arrested in Rio Grande City (a town on the US-Mexico border) after a Starr County Grand Jury indicted her on March 30 for murder based on the claim that she deliberately caused the death of an individual by self-induced abortion. However, it is unclear from the indictment whether she was accused of having an abortion or aided in someone’s abortion. Lizelle was released from jail on Saturday with a $500,000 bond. 

While the sheriff’s office maintains its decision to arrest Lizelle Herrera, District Attorney (DA) Gocha Allen Ramirez disagreed with the decision. Subsequently, on April 10 (Sunday), DA Ramirez revealed that his office would be dropping the charges against Lizelle Herrera the following day. DA Ramirez maintained in a statement on Sunday that after reviewing the information and evidence, it was clear that Lizelle Herrera “cannot and should not be prosecuted for the allegation against her” (Afshar and Allen, 2022). 

The indictment and subsequent arrest of Lizelle Herrera highlight the discrepancies between the 2021 Texas State Abortion Law and the constitutional rights guaranteed under Roe v. Wade. Moreover, as it was never revealed what crime Ms Herrera was charged with, it reeks of exploitation of criminal law to target minorities and women. 

Sources and Further Reading

Afshar, Paradise and Allen, Keith. (2022, April 10). Texas District Attorney Says He Will Drop Murder Charge Against Woman in Connection With ‘Self-Induced Abortion’. CNN. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/10/us/texas-district-attorney-drops-murder-charge/index.html

The guardian. (2022, April 9). Texas Woman, 26 Charged with Murder over self-induced abortion. The Guardian, Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/09/texas-woman-26-charged-murder-self-induced-abortion

Wallace, Terry. (2022, April 10). Texas DA Says Murder Charge In Abortion Case Will Be Dropped. ABC News. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/texas-da-murder-charge-abortion-case-dropped-83998374