Lizelle Gonzalez filed a lawsuit against the Starr County District attorney’s office and county after she was wrongfully accused of murder in 2022 for a self-induced abortio.
After being falsely accused of murder over a self-induced abortion in 2022, Lizelle Gonzalez sued the Starr County District Attorney’s office and the county. After being falsely accused of murder over a self-induced abortion in 2022, Lizelle Gonzalez brought legal action against the Starr County District Attorney’s office and the county.
Lizelle Gonzalez filed a lawsuit against the Starr County District attorney’s office and county after she was wrongfully accused of murder in 2022 for a self-induced abortio.
LOADINGERROR LOADING. McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A Texas woman who was charged with murder over self-managing an abortion and spent two nights in jail has sued prosecutors along the U.S.-Mexico border who put the criminal case in motion before it was later dropped.. The lawsuit filed by Lizelle Gonzalez in federal court Thursday comes a month after the State Bar of Texas fined and disciplined the district attorney in rural Starr County over the case in 2022, when Gonzalez was charged with murder in “the death of an individual by self-induced abortion.”. Advertisement. Under the abortion restrictions in Texas and other states, women who seek abortion are exempt from criminal charges.. The lawsuit argues Gonzalez suffered harm from the arrest and subsequent media coverage. She is seeking $1 million in damages.. “The fallout from Defendants’ illegal and unconstitutional actions has forever changed the Plaintiff’s life,” the lawsuit stated.. Starr County District Attorney Gocha Ramirez said Friday that he had not yet been served the lawsuit and declined comment. Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, the county’s top elected official, also declined comment.. Advertisement. According to the lawsuit, Gonzalez was 19 weeks pregnant when she used misoprostol, one of two drugs used in medication abortions. Misoprostol is also used to treat stomach ulcers.. After taking the pills, Gonzalez received an obstetrical examination at the hospital emergency room and was discharged with abdominal pain. She returned with bleeding the next day and an exam found no fetal heartbeat. Doctors performed a caesarian section to deliver a stillborn baby.. The lawsuit argues that the hospital violated the patient’s privacy rights when they reported the abortion to the district attorney’s office, which then carried out its own investigation and produced a murder charge against Gonzalez.. Cecilia Garza, an attorney for Gonzalez, said prosecutors pursued an indictment despite knowing that a woman receiving the abortion is exempted from a murder charge by state law.. Ramirez announced the charges would be dropped just days after the woman’s arrest but not before she’d spent two nights in jail and was identified by name as a murder suspect.. Advertisement. In February, Ramirez agreed to pay a $1,250 fine and have his license held in a probated suspension for 12 months in a settlement reached with the State Bar of Texas. He told The Associated Press at the time that he “made a mistake” and agreed to the punishment because it allows his office to keep running and him to keep prosecuting cases.. Support HuffPost. Our 2024 Coverage Needs You. Your Loyalty Means The World To Us. At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. 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If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you’ll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.. Support HuffPost. Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.. Related. Texasassociated pressjudgeLizelle GonzalezStarr County. Trump Is Silent On The Abortion Pill Case — But His Fingerprints Are All Over It. A Potential National Abortion Ban Rears Its Head At The Supreme Court. Supreme Court Abortion Pill Case Draws Women Out To Fight. Again.. Supreme Court Justices Question Why Abortion Pill Suit Is In Front Of Them
