No Charges for Mom Who Took Abortion Pill at 5 Months

Georgia DA drops murder count
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 10, 2015 9:06 AM CDT
Updated Jun 10, 2015 10:31 AM CDT
Woman Took Abortion Pill at 5 Months, Faces Life in Jail
Kenlissa Jones, 23, is charged with murder after taking abortion pills.   (Dougherty County Jail)

Murder charges have been dropped against a Georgia woman who took an abortion pill she bought online and delivered a five-and-a-half-month-old fetus that lived for 30 minutes, reports WALB. Kenlissa Jones, 23, reportedly took four pills of Cytotec—the brand name of the drug misoprostol used alongside mifepristone in non-surgical abortions, reports Salon—which she'd purchased from Canada, per the AP. "Once she took those pills ... she was in a world of hurt for a while," says brother Rico Riggins, who didn't know she was pregnant. A neighbor drove Jones to the hospital on Saturday, but she delivered a baby boy en route. The baby died at the hospital 30 minutes later. "We lost what would have been a nephew for me. And everything. And then my sister," says Riggins, who now has guardianship of Jones' son, who is less than 2 years old.

Jones was released from jail after the DA says "thorough legal research led to the conclusion that Georgia law presently does not permit prosecution of Ms. Jones for any alleged acts relating to the end of her pregnancy." An abortion after the first trimester is prohibited in Georgia unless performed at a licensed medical facility. However, a lawyer with the National Advocates for Pregnant Women says state law prohibits prosecuting a woman for feticide concerning her own pregnancy. "We don't believe there is any law in Georgia that allows for the arrest of a woman for the outcome of her pregnancy," she says. The director of anti-abortion group Georgia Right to Life says even she was surprised by the arrest, noting "perhaps whoever made the arrest may not have known what the laws really are." (More abortion pill stories.)

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