Lawsuit against Texas officials for jailing woman who self-induced abortion can continue
A Texas woman's lawsuit against local officials for charging her with murder after her self-induced abortion failed can move forward, according to a judges' ruling.
Starr County prosecutors earlier attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed, claiming they had absolute immunity because they were acting in their prosecutorial capacity when they brought murder charges against Lizelle Gonzalez, then 26, for taking pills to self-induce an abortion. Starr County is on the U.S.-Mexico border, around 150 miles southwest of Corpus Christi.
"What we have pled and what I think we will be able to show is that the prosecutors in this case, the district attorney and the assistant district attorney, were acting outside of their prosecutorial role" when they launched an investigation into Gonzalez' attempted abortion, said Cecilia Garza, an attorney for Gonzalez.
Gonzalez is seeking $1 million from Gocha Ramirez and Alexandria Barrera, the county's district attorney and assistant district attorney, and other local officials, after the pair filed an indictment against her in March of 2022.
Gonzalez arrested after Texas passes restrictive abortion law
The case, which Gonzalez' lawsuit called the "first ever murder charge for a self-induced abortion in Starr County," drew widespread attention amid tightening restrictions on abortion rights in the state.
In May of 2021, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, before most women know they are pregnant. The law, which went into effect in Sept. 2021, also allows private citizens to sue anyone who would "aid and abet" an abortion. But, according to the law, a woman is exempt from charges stemming from her own abortion.
Months after the new restrictions began, Gonzalez walked into an emergency room in Rio Grande City with abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, according to court documents. Gonzalez had taken a form of misoprostol at 19 weeks pregnant, but doctors still detected a fetal heartbeat and concluded the abortion was "incomplete."
When the heartbeat stopped, Gonzalez had to undergo a caesarean section, and delivered the baby stillborn.
Ramirez and Barrera launched an investigation into the abortion attempt, leading to the indictment against Gonzalez. In early April, she was arrested. She spent three days in a local jail, during which she visited the hospital for anxiety, according to the lawsuit.
Gonzalez' attorneys say she suffered anxiety and distress from both the arrest and the intense public attention it attracted. "The arrest itself had a very traumatic effect on Lizelle," Garza said.
Gonzalez' mug shot "was posted everywhere. She really can't run away from it. Even now, it's something that's just a part of her life," Garza said.
In a statement posted to Facebook after Gonzalez' release, Ramirez said Gonzales "cannot and should not be prosecuted for the allegation against her."
Although Gonzalez "will not face prosecution for this incident, it is clear to me that the events leading up to this indictment have taken a toll" on her and her family, he wrote.
The Texas State Bar placed Ramirez on a year-long "probated suspension" that began on April 1 after it concluded he had committed "professional misconduct" in the case. He was also fined $1,250. The agency did not prohibit Ramirez from acting as the district attorney at any point.
Garza said the case would now enter a discovery process on the issue of the defendants' immunity. "I believe that they're just going to fight us every step of the way, regardless of what we're able to find," she said.
Ricardo Navarro, who represents the defense, declined to give additional comment in an email to USA TODAY.
Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.