Ga. prosecutor drops murder charge in abortion pill case
ALBANY, Ga. — A Georgia prosecutor dropped a murder charge Wednesday but is pursuing a drug possession count against a 23year-old woman accused of ending her pregnancy without a prescription, using pills she bought online.
Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards dismissed a malice murder charge against Kenlissia Jones, who spent about three days in jail after seeking help at a hospital.
But he said Jones faces a misdemeanor charge of possessing a dangerous drug, which Georgia law defines as any drug requiring a prescription.
The dismissal of the murder charge was praised by Lynn Paltrow, an attorney and executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women in New York.
But she said the case illustrates a creeping trend of prosecuting women who exercise their right to abortions.
“She was arrested and held without bond in a health crisis,” Paltrow said. “You do not want to have a pregnant woman fear arrest as a result of the outcome of her pregnancy or for seeking health care.”
Abortion rights advocates and opponents of abortion were stunned by the proposed murder charge.
Georgia has prohibited the prosecution of women for feticide or for perform- ing illegal abortions in cases involving their own pregnancies.
Edwards said the arresting officers acted within their authority and used “their best understanding of the law,” but that their understanding was incorrect.
Jones was arrested after seeking help at a hospital Saturday.
A social worker told police that Jones had taken four Cytotec pills she ordered online after breaking up with her boyfriend. The pills induced labor and she delivered the fetus, which did not survive, in a car on the way to the hospital, according to an Albany police report.
Cytotec is a brand name for misoprostol, which is used in combination with mifepristone to induce nonsurgical abortions. The pills are sold with prescriptions in the U.S., but available over the counter and online in many countries.
Authorities estimated Jones was 51⁄ pregnant, WALB-TV reported.