Lizelle Herrera is a 26-year-old Texas woman who was accused of murder because of a “self-inducted abortion.”
However, on April 10, 2022, the Starr County, Texas, District Attorney announced that Herrera won’t face charges.
In a statement, DA Gocha Allen Ramirez wrote that, on April 9, he reached out to Herrera’s lawyer to “advise him that my office will be filing a motion dismissing the indictment against Ms. Herrera Monday April 11, 2022.” He added, “in reviewing applicable Texas law, it is clear that Ms. Herrera cannot and should not be prosecuted for the allegation against her.”
The DA said that the Starr County Sheriff’s Department “did their duty in investigating the incident brought to their attention by the reporting hospital. To ignore the incident would have been a dereliction of their duty.” However, he said prosecutorial discretion rests with the DA and the State of Texas prosecutor’s oath is “to do justice. Following that oath, the only correct outcome to this matter is to immediately dismiss the indictment against Ms. Herrera.”
Herrera will “not face prosecution… it is clear to me that the events leading up to this indictment have taken a toll on Ms. Herrera and her family. To ignore this fact would be shortsighted. The issues surrounding this matter are clearly contentious; however based on Texas law and the facts presented, it is not a criminal matter…It is my hope that with the dismissal of this case, it is made clear that Ms. Herrera did not commit a criminal act under the laws of the State of Texas.”
The case is sure to create new controversies over Texas’s abortion laws. Herrera was arrested by the Starr County Sheriff’s Department in McAllen, Texas.
The Guardian noted that it’s not clear whether Herrera “was accused of having an abortion or whether she helped someone else get an abortion.”
However, Texas Public Radio quoted the head of an “abortion fund” activist group as saying that Herrera came on the radar of law enforcement officials when she divulged information about a miscarriage in the hospital.
Authorities have not confirmed that account; they have released almost no details. The hashtag #freelizelle was trending on Twitter.
Here’s what you need to know:
Herrera Was Charged With Murder for a ‘Self-Induced Abortion,’ Reports Say
Starr Co SheriffSheriff Fuentes
Court documents posted on Facebook by the page El Tejano say that a grand jury in Texas found that Herrera “did then and there intentionally and knowingly cause the death of an individual J.A.H. by a self-inducted abortion,” giving the date Jan. 7, 2022. According to Telemundo, she was arrested on April 7, 2022.
Protestors are chanting for abortion rights and the release of Lizelle Herrera. @TPRNews
Heavy has written to Starr County Sheriff Rene “Orta” Fuentes seeking comment. The department recommends people interested in seeing who is in jail check the VINE Link database. Herrera does not appear in it. Heavy has reached out to Herrera through a social media page and phone numbers in online records.
According to Valley Central, Herrera was “charged with murder after authorities say she performed a “self-induced abortion.'”
A Sheriff’s Department spokesman told the news outlet that Herrera was arrested on accusations that she did “intentionally and knowingly cause the death of an individual by self-induced abortion.” She was initially held on $500,000 bail.
Sheriff’s major Carlos Delgado told The Guardian: “Herrera was arrested and served with an indictment on the charge of murder after Herrera did then and there intentionally and knowingly cause the death of an individual by self-induced abortion.”
Authorities have not released additional details.
An Abortion Fund Claims Herrera Divulged Information After a Miscarriage to Hospital Officials
🚨 ACTION ALERT 🚨
STARR COUNTY JAIL HAS DISCONNECTED THEIR NUMBER! Thank you for using your voice in the unlawful arrest of Lizelle. We also need to urge the Starr Co. DA, G. Allen Ramirez, to drop the alleged murder charges. Call Starr County DA right now!
Frontera Fund wrote on Twitter, “STARR COUNTY JAIL HAS DISCONNECTED THEIR NUMBER! Thank you for using your voice in the unlawful arrest of Lizelle. We also need to urge the Starr Co. DA, G. Allen Ramirez, to drop the alleged murder charges. Call Starr County DA right now.” That site calls itself “an abortion fund for the Rio Grande Valley.”
According to Texas Public Radio, the group protested on April 9, 2022, outside the Starr County Jail.
“This arrest is inhumane. We are demanding the immediate release of Lizelle Herrera,” said Rockie Gonzalez, founder and board chair of Frontera Fund to TPR. “What is alleged is that she was in the hospital and had a miscarriage and divulged some information to hospital staff, who then reported her to the police.”
According to ABC News, Texas has the most restrictive abortion laws in the United States. There have been numerous legal challenges to the constitutionality of the laws, according to the Texas Tribune. That publication calls the controversial law a “near total” abortion ban that “bans abortions at about six weeks from the patient’s last menstrual period.” The newspaper reported that the law is enforced through civil litigation.
MyRGV.com first reported the story.
MyRGV.com first reported the story.