Texas abortion case: District attorney drops murder charge against woman
It is not known whether the woman, whom CNN does not name, had an abortion herself or otherwise assisted in an abortion.
The Texas woman was originally charged with murder after “intentionally and knowingly causing[ing] the death of an individual by voluntary abortion,” according to the statement by Maj. Carlos Delgado of the Starr County Sheriff’s Office, obtained by CNN affiliate KRGV.
Ramirez will file the motion to dismiss the indictment on Monday, his statement said, but stressed that the sheriff’s office acted in accordance with its responsibilities under the law.
“In reviewing this matter, it is clear 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 breach of duty. their duty,” read Ramirez’s statement.
“Prosecutive discretion rests with the district attorney’s office, and in the state of Texas, the prosecutor’s oath is to do justice. Following that oath, the only correct outcome to this case is to immediately dismiss the act. of indictment,” adds Ramirez.
Calls and emails from CNN to Delgado and the sheriff’s office were not returned Saturday or Sunday.
The woman’s attorney did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on Saturday and Sunday. Messages were also left for representatives of the Frontera Fund over the weekend.
News of the arrest has sparked outrage among abortion-rights supporters in light of tough Texas abortion laws passed last year. A new law prohibits abortion providers from performing pregnancy terminations after detecting early heart activity in a fetus. A second law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in September prohibits a person “from providing abortion-inducing medication to a pregnant woman without meeting applicable informed consent requirements for abortions.”
Ramirez acknowledged in his statement that “it is clear to me that the events leading up to this indictment have taken their toll” on the woman and her family.
“To ignore that fact would be shortsighted. The issues surrounding this case are clearly contentious, but based on Texas law and the facts presented, this is not a criminal case,” Ramirez said.
CNN’s Monique Smith contributed to this report.
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