In 2022, Lizelle Gonzalez of Texas was charged with murder after she performed an abortion on herself using medication. After two nights in jail, the charges were dropped by the county prosecutor, who was subsequently reprimanded for the decision to bring charges in the first place. Now, Gonzalez is suing the authorities involved.
Gonzalez is seeking $1 million in damages for what she experienced in a state with some of the strictest abortion laws.
While abortion is largely illegal in Texas, women who get abortions are not subject to criminal or civil penalties — a common misconception regarding the Texas abortion law. Women who get abortions are safe from prosecution; it’s medical providers who could face fines or jail time if they perform an abortion outside of the state’s parameters.
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The defendants named in the lawsuit tried to have the case dismissed, arguing they are immune from such lawsuits, but a federal judge decided it can proceed. The prosecutor at the center of the case was already fined $1,200 and had his license under a “probated suspension” for a year in a separate settlement reached with the State Bar of Texas.
The attorneys for Gonzalez argue this was a serious oversight of state law. A Southern Methodist University law professor, Joanna Grossman, spoke about abortion law with The Dallas Morning News.
“There have been cases in which people have been wrongfully charged with crimes related to self-induced abortion,” Grossman said. “But that’s a problem with rogue prosecutors rather than a reflection of what the law provides. There are no laws in Texas that criminalize self-managed or self-induced abortion.”
