Texas woman allowed to sue over abortion-related jailing

U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton on Wednesday denied a motion by officials in Starr County, Texas to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought by Lizelle Gonzalez. She alleges in the lawsuit that the sheriff’s office jailed her in April 2022. The lawsuit accuses staff at Starr County Memorial Hospital of telling district attorney’s office that she had aborted her unborn child using the drug misoprostol. The district attorney’s office charged her with murder and she spent three days in jail before she was released on bond. District Attorney Gocha Allen Ramirez dropped the charges days later.

Attorneys representing Gonzalez in March this year filed a lawsuit against Ramirez and other Starr County officials seeking $1 million in damages for violating her rights under the constitution and U.S. law. Ramirez and other defendants have argued their official roles give them immunity from civil lawsuits, according to the Associated Press. Ramirez in the past said he made a mistake in bringing the charges.

What does Texas law say? Under a Texas law, women cannot be criminally prosecuted for killing their unborn child through an abortion. Gonzalez’s attorneys say she should never have been charged. The case occurred months before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson ruling that allowed states to regulate abortion, and before Texas’ pro-life law came into effect protecting almost all babies from abortion. The State Bar of Texas in March of this year suspended Ramirez from practicing law for one year and fined him $1,250 after investigating his conduct during the case.

Dig deeper: Read Addie Offereins’ report in The Stew about Vice President Kamala Harris’ track record on abortion.