Murder charge is dropped against woman accused of buying drug online to end her pregnancy
The district attorney in Albany, Georgia, has dropped a murder charge against a woman accused of ending her pregnancy with a drug she bought online without a prescription.
Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards said he wouldn’t prosecute for murder because Georgia law does not appear to allow prosecution of a woman for ending her own pregnancy, report the Associated Press, WALB, the Washington Post and the Albany Herald. His statement is here.
Authorities estimated that the woman, 23-year-old Kenlissia Jones, was about 5 1/2 months pregnant when she took the drug. She was arrested after going to the hospital.
Georgia law requires physicians to perform abortions after the first trimester.
Edwards said he still planned to prosecute Jones on a misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous drug. She is accused of taking Cytotec, the brand name for misoprostol, which is used with mifepristone in medication abortions. Cytotec is also used to treat ulcers.
Jones’ brother, Ricco Riggins, told the Washington Post his sister has had a troubled life and she didn’t have any money to pay for an abortion. Jones’ mother, Brenda Jones, told the Post she doesn’t know if her daughter’s “mind is really there.”
