Texas woman charged with murder for abortion accuses police of 'maliciously abusing their power'

Attorneys for a Texas woman wrongfully charged with murder after having an abortion say that state officials are abusing their power by pushing to have the lawsuit against them dismissed under qualified immunity.

A new filing on behalf of Lizelle Gonzalez by the American Civil Liberties Union disputes Starr County officials' claim of qualified immunity, maintaining that District Attorney Gocha Allen Ramirez, Assistant District Attorney Alexandria Barrera, and Sheriff Rene Fuentes "knowingly and maliciously abusing their power to concoct charges and violate a person’s constitutional rights."

"[Defendants] acted together to investigate, charge, and arrest Ms. Gonzalez for murder, knowing that there was no probable cause to do so," the filing argues. "Because DA Ramirez and ADA Barrera acted in an investigatory capacity by providing legal advice and directions about how to conduct the investigation, and because their involvement occurred when there was no probable cause, they are not entitled to absolute prosecutorial immunity."

Gonzalez was 19 weeks pregnant in 2022 when she used misoprostol, one of two drugs used in medication abortions, which is also used to treat stomach ulcers. She was discharged from the hospital one day with abominable pain, then returned the next day with bleeding. An exam found no fetal heartbeat, and doctors performed a caesarean section to deliver a stillborn baby.

Gonzalez was arrested after the hospital reported the abortion to the district attorney’s office. She spent two nights in jail after being charged with murder in “the death of an individual by self-induced abortion." The charges were dropped and Gonzalez was released days later, but only after she had been publicly named as a murder suspect.

It is illegal for health care providers to perform or facilitate an abortion in Texas, but patients who receive the treatment are exempt from criminal charges. The State Bar of Texas later punished Ramirez for bringing the charges, forcing him to pay a $1,250 fine and suspending his license for 12 months.

Gonzalez filed a wrongful arrest lawsuit in April last year against Ramirez, Barrera, and Fuentes, seeking $1 million in damages for the "deprivation of liberty, reputational harm, public humiliation, distress, pain, and suffering" she experienced.

The officials attempted to have the case against them dismissed in a July, 2024 filing, citing qualified immunity. The statute makes state and local officials immune to lawsuits over their conduct in the line of duty unless they violate "clearly established statutory or constitutional rights."

“Starr County prosecutors and law enforcement ignored Texas law when they wrongfully arrested Lizelle Gonzalez for ending her pregnancy,” Sarah Corning, an attorney at the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement. “They shattered her life in South Texas, violated her rights, and abused the power they swore to uphold. Texas law is clear: a pregnant person cannot be arrested and prosecuted for getting an abortion. No one is above the law, including officials entrusted with enforcing it.”