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The defendants in the lawsuit brought by a Starr County woman who was wrongly charged with murder have admitted that personnel associated with the Starr County Memorial Hospital reported her because they believed she had violated Senate Bill 8, Texas’ strict abortion law.
Senate Bill 8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act, prohibits a physician from performing or inducing an abortion after a “fetal heartbeat” has been detected.
“The law did not make performing or inducing an abortion a crime,” according to a factual statement from the Texas State Law Library. “Instead, it allows civil lawsuits against a physician who provides or induces such an abortion.”
That law went into effect in September 2021. However, it didn’t have any practicality until the Supreme Court outlawed abortion when it overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
The revelation that medical personnel believed the woman violated Senate Bill 8 comes from an answer to the lawsuit filed last Sunday.
Lizelle Gonzalez, who was previously identified as Lizelle Herrera, was arrested on April 7, 2022, approximately two months before that decision.
She was charged with murder for having a self-induced abortion.
“Lizelle Herrera, Defendant, on or about the 7th day of January, 2022, and before the presentment of this indictment, in Starr County, Texas did then and there intentionally and knowingly cause they death of an individual J.A.H., by self induced abortion,” the indictment stated.
She was released from jail on Saturday, April 9, 2022. The following day, the district attorney released a statement in which he dismissed the indictment against Gonzalez.
District Attorney Gocha A. Ramirez said after the dismissal that it’s clear Gonzalez could not have been prosecuted, but that the sheriff’s office did its duty investigating the incident.
“Although with this dismissal Ms. (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 Ms. (Gonzalez) and her family,” Ramirez said in the statement. “To ignore this face would be shortsighted. The issues surrounding this matter are clearly contentious, however based on Texas law and the facts presented, it is not a criminal matter.”
The State Bar of Texas’ Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel fined and imposed a probated suspension against Ramirez in February as a result of the indictment against Gonzalez. He was fined $1,250 for violating the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. His suspension began on April 1 and will end on March 31, 2025.
Gonzalez is suing Ramirez, Starr County, Assistant District Attorney Alexandria Lynn Barrera and Sheriff Rene Fuentes.
In July, her lawsuit survived several motions to dismiss.
She is seeking $1 million in damages.
