A Texas woman’s murder charge for a 'self-induced abortion' was dropped. Why the fallout may linger.

It was a charge that seemed “baffling”: A Texas woman was indicted for murder for a “self-induced abortion," even though state law exempts women from criminal homicide charges for ending a pregnancy.

The Starr County prosecutor this week dropped the charge against Lizelle Herrera, 26, saying no crime had occurred. But abortion-rights advocates say the episode leaves a chilling effect that will further deter women from seeking abortion care.

Texas already has one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws, which bans the procedure after about six weeks. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas says that has led to more self-managed abortions.

“It creates a very scary environment,” said Zaena Zamora, executive director of the abortion-rights group Frontera Fund, which brought attention to the case. “We’re a small close-knit community. And poor Lizelle's face, basically her mug shot, has been plastered all over national media.”

Why the charge was sought in the first place remains unclear. 

District Attorney Gocha Ramirez has declined to explain what statute or legal theory led the case to be put to a grand jury. Neither the underlying legal rationale for the charge nor the circumstances behind the allegation are detailed in court documents.

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Calixtro Villarreal, Herrera’s attorney whose website calls his practice “a Christian-based organization,” has not replied to requests for comment.

The case against Herrera, who lives near Rio Grande City along the Mexican border, began when a hospital alerted authorities.

She visited the facility for care, said Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens who advocated for Herrera and spoke to her family.

The Starr County Sheriff’s Office investigated. On March 30, a grand jury indictment alleged that in January, Herrera “intentionally and knowingly” caused the death of “an individual ... by a self-induced abortion.” She was jailed on a $500,000 bond. 

Court documents didn’t say how far along she was in her pregnancy and did not describe the “self-induced abortion.” 

That term can include a range of measures, such as medications, herbal remedies, or physical methods, said Farah Diaz-Tello, senior counsel and legal director at If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice.

The 'baffling' murder charge against Lizelle Herrera

Herrera’s arrest set off alarm bells among abortion-rights advocates. 

Elizabeth Sepper, a University of Texas law professor who studies health law, called the charge “baffling” given state law.

Texas' law that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy does not target pregnant people themselves for prosecution and instead is enforceable by private parties who may sue abortion providers who "aid and abet" women seeking abortions. The state also banned providers from prescribing abortion medications after seven weeks and prohibited the delivery of the pills by mail.

Others wondered if the office had a new legal theory it intended to pursue.

Stephen Vladeck, another law professor at the University of Texas, said on Twitter that it “sure looks like the prosecutors just ... forgot ... that Texas’s murder statute expressly exempts from its scope a pregnant woman who terminates a pregnancy.”

Even Texas Right to Life, a nonprofit that advocates against abortions, “opposes public prosecutors going outside of the bounds of Texas’ prudent and carefully crafted policies," it said in a statement to Paste BN. 

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The Washington Post, citing an anonymous source, reported that two days after Herrera’s arrest, Ramirez phoned Herrera's attorney and said she never should have been charged. Paste BN could not independently verify the account.

Antonio Arellano, a spokesperson for the ACLU of Texas, provided a statement saying it was “clear that Ms. Herrera should not have been arrested and detained.”

Abortion advocates worry Texas case will fuel mistrust in health care

Regardless, some still see the case as a troubling harbinger at a fraught time for the future of abortion access. 

Ahead of an anticipated U.S. Supreme Court ruling this summer that could overturn Roe v. Wade, some Republican-dominated legislatures are pushing to further scale back abortion rights. Oklahoma enacted a bill this week that makes it a felony to perform an abortion, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Kentucky enacted a law this week that bans abortions after 15 weeks as well as medication by mail used to terminate early pregnancies. While legal challenges are pending, the law already halted abortions at the state's last two abortion providers, with advocates saying it makes Kentucky the first state to effectively end abortions. 

Some worry that if Roe is overturned, conservative states will push measures that increasingly criminalize abortion or dilute long-standing criminal protections for women involving their own pregnancies.

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“This prosecution in a case where there is no law that criminalizes having an abortion clearly does signal that for some law enforcement bodies and some political actors across the country, they’re chomping at the bit to prosecute people who have been pregnant and either have an abortion or miscarry,” Sepper said. 

And Herrera’s case – jailed and thrust into the national spotlight during an immensely private moment – is likely to fuel health care mistrust and to make women think twice before seeking care after an abortion, advocates said.

La Frontera said it is exploring whether reporting by medical professionals to police in cases like Herrera’s falls under medical privacy laws. The group wants to help ensure women aren’t afraid to share important health information.

Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi, an OB-GYN in Texas, recently tweeted about the issue.

“This is an important time to remind my colleagues in Texas that we are not agents of The State, we are servants to our communities. There is no medical or ethical reason you have to report any adult's pregnancy outcomes to law enforcement. Pregnancy outcomes are not illegal, yet,” she wrote.

Contributing: Cady Stanton, Paste BN

Chris Kenning is a national news reporter for Paste BN. Reach him at ckenning@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @chris_kenning