Teen sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus, not for abortion
Jul 21, 2023
By Karah Rucker (Anchor)
Media Landscape
This story is a Media Miss by the right as only 18% of the coverage is from right leaning media.
Learn more about this dataLeft 59%
Center 24%
Right 18%
Bias Distribution
Far
Left
+0
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Nebraska teen sentenced to 90 days in jail for burying fetus she aborted
Click to see story on The Guardian
Teen jailed for three months after buying abortion pills to end pregnancy at 17
Click to see story on Daily Mirror
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Associated Press News
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
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Nebraska woman charged with disposing of fetus following illegal abortion sentenced to 90 days in jail
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18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
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18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Alaska Highway News
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Lakeland Today
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Mountainview Today
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Burnaby Now
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Delta Optimist
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on SF Gate
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on SF Chronicle
Headline Unavailable
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Headline Unavailable
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A Nebraska teen was sentenced to 90 days in jail over an illegal abortion. Police used Facebook messages between her and her mom to charge them both.
Click to see story on INSIDER
Nebraska: 18-year-old aborts in seven months and burns fetus – 90 days imprisonment
Click to see story on Spiegel
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Powell River Peak
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Nebraska woman charged with disposing of fetus following illegal abortion sentenced to 90 days in jail
Click to see story on KIFI
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on San Diego Union Tribune
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on KOB 4
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on City News
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Federal News Network
Nebraska Teen Gets 90 Days in Jail for Burning Fetus After Illegal Abortion
Click to see story on The Messenger
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion – News Facts Network
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18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
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18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fe
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Nebraska teen gets 90 days behind bars for late-term abortion
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18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
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Nebraska teen sent to jail for having abortion, burning fetus with mother’s help
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Untracked Bias
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Squamish Chief
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Rocky Mountain Outlook
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on My Mother Lode
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on ABC News 8 Lincoln KLKN
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Temple Daily Telegram
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
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Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning a fetus after an abortion
Click to see story on La Opinion
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
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42 other sources covering this story
Total News Sources
42
Leaning Left
20
Center
8
Leaning Right
6
Last Updated
10 months ago
An 18-year-old woman in rural Nebraska will spend three months in jail for burning and burying the corpse of her unborn child. Though Celeste Burgess aborted the fetus at 30 weeks, she is not serving time because of her late-term abortion but for what she did afterwards.
Headlines from media outlets covering the teen’s jail sentence paint a different, potentially confusing picture.
For example, The New York Times headline reads, “Nebraska teen who used pills to end pregnancy gets 90 days in jail.” While the headline is accurate in that the woman did use pills to end her pregnancy and she is going to jail for 90 days, she’s not going to jail because she used pills to get an abortion.
A New York Post headlines reads, “Nebraska teen Celeste Burgess gets 90 days behind bars for late-term abortion.” Although the abortion did lead to the teenager burning and burying the fetus, the charges are based on the disposal of the stillborn – not the abortion itself.
As abortion remains a hot-button issue in America, this story is generating significant coverage.
Many states have enacted new abortion bans since Roe V. Wade was overturned one year ago, leading to some abortion advocacy groups speculating that states could come after women who illegally terminate their pregnancy based on the new laws.
But this story is not an example of that.
Nebraska did pass a 12-week abortion ban, which is now in effect; it was a 20-week ban prior to that. But Burgess was never charged under the new abortion law – or any other abortion one.
This hasn’t stopped Nebraska lawmakers from expressing their concerns over the case and arguing the 18-year-old needed “help and support” not “prosecution.”
State Senator Megan Hunt said in a previous statement about the case, “How did we fail this young woman? That is a bigger question that we need to ask ourselves as a culture.”
In this specific case, Nebraska’s state law on abortion had no impact on her sentence. Burgess could have burned and buried the human corpse in any of the 50 states and the felony charge would have still applied.
Burgess conducted a self-managed abortion at 30 weeks, in violation of Nebraska’s abortion law, but she wasn’t prosecuted for it. She would have been in violation of abortion laws in 43 states, including more lenient locations like California and New York, given the abortion happened passed the point of viability, which is when the baby could have survived on its own outside of the womb.
In addition to 90 days in jail, Burgess was sentenced to two years’ probation.
“The court specifically finds that while probation is appropriate, confinement is necessary because without this confinement, it would depreciate the seriousness of the crime or promote disrespect for the law,” Seventh Judicial District Court Judge James G. Kube said in a statement on the ruling.
While Celeste Burgess didn’t face any charges related to the abortion, her mother did.
Forty-two-year-old Jessica Burgess, who gave her daughter the abortion pills, faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to performing an abortion beyond 20 weeks.
Jessica Burgess’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for September.
Media Landscape
This story is a Media Miss by the right as only 18% of the coverage is from right leaning media.
Learn more about this dataLeft 59%
Center 24%
Right 18%
Bias Distribution
Far
Left
+0
Click to close
Nebraska teen sentenced to 90 days in jail for burying fetus she aborted
Click to see story on The Guardian
Teen jailed for three months after buying abortion pills to end pregnancy at 17
Click to see story on Daily Mirror
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Associated Press News
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on abc News
Nebraska woman charged with disposing of fetus following illegal abortion sentenced to 90 days in jail
Click to see story on CNN
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on NBC News
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Alaska Highway News
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Lakeland Today
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Mountainview Today
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Burnaby Now
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Delta Optimist
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on SF Gate
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on SF Chronicle
Headline Unavailable
Click to see story on The Seattle Times
Headline Unavailable
Click to see story on U.S. News
A Nebraska teen was sentenced to 90 days in jail over an illegal abortion. Police used Facebook messages between her and her mom to charge them both.
Click to see story on INSIDER
Nebraska: 18-year-old aborts in seven months and burns fetus – 90 days imprisonment
Click to see story on Spiegel
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Powell River Peak
Click to close
Nebraska woman charged with disposing of fetus following illegal abortion sentenced to 90 days in jail
Click to see story on KIFI
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on San Diego Union Tribune
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on KOB 4
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on City News
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Federal News Network
Nebraska Teen Gets 90 Days in Jail for Burning Fetus After Illegal Abortion
Click to see story on The Messenger
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion – News Facts Network
Click to see story on News Facts Network
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Durango Herald
Click to close
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fe
Click to see story on Washington Times
Nebraska teen gets 90 days behind bars for late-term abortion
Click to see story on New York Post
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on MY Northwest
Nebraska teen sent to jail for having abortion, burning fetus with mother’s help
Click to see story on Alabama Live
Click to close
Far
Right
+0
Click to close
Untracked Bias
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Squamish Chief
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Rocky Mountain Outlook
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on My Mother Lode
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on ABC News 8 Lincoln KLKN
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on Temple Daily Telegram
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on KTAR.com
Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning a fetus after an abortion
Click to see story on La Opinion
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
Click to see story on The Telegraph [thetelegraph.com]
Click to close
42 other sources covering this story
Total News Sources
42
Leaning Left
20
Center
8
Leaning Right
6
Last Updated
10 months ago
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