US woman jailed on murder charge after taking abortion pill

[webfact]

Ga. woman jailed on murder charge after taking abortion pill
By RUSS BYNUM

Dougherty: -- Advocates on both sides of the abortion debate said Tuesday that they are stunned police arrested a Georgia woman on murder charges after a hospital social worker told officers she terminated her pregnancy by taking abortion pills.

Kenlissia Jones, 23, of Albany was being held at the Dougherty County jail on charges of malice murder and possession of a dangerous drug. District Attorney Greg Edwards said Tuesday afternoon that he is reviewing the case, but "as of right now she's still charged."

Jones was arrested Saturday after a county social services worker called police to a hospital, according to an Albany police report. A hospital social worker told police that Jones said she had taken four pills she purchased over the Internet "to induce labor" because she and her boyfriend had broken up.

The social worker told police Jones went into labor and delivered the fetus in a car on the way to the hospital. The fetus did not survive. The police report does not say how far along Jones was in her pregnancy.

WALB-TV reported (http://bit.ly/1Irtzju) earlier that authorities said Jones was about 5 ½ months pregnant.

Prosecuting Jones seems at odds with Georgia case law, said Lynn Paltrow, an attorney and executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women, a legal group in New York. She noted state law explicitly prohibits prosecuting women for feticide involving their own pregnancies. And a Georgia appeals court ruled in 1998 that a teenager whose fetus was stillborn after she shot herself in the abdomen could not be prosecuted for performing an illegal abortion. Prosecutors ended up dropping that case.

"We don't believe there is any law in Georgia that allows for the arrest of a woman for the outcome of her pregnancy," said Paltrow, whose group is offering free legal aid to Jones.

Genevieve Wilson, a director of the anti-abortion group Georgia Right to Life, said this is the first time she has heard of a woman in Georgia facing a murder charge for ending her pregnancy. And Wilson agreed with Paltrow that feticide and abortion laws in the state have not been used to target women who end their own pregnancies.

"I am very surprised by the arrest," Wilson said. "And I'm thinking that perhaps whoever made the arrest may not have known what the laws really are."

Edwards said he is taking a close look before deciding ultimately whether to follow through with prosecuting Jones.

"Those are the issues that we're trying to unravel," said Edwards, who declined to discuss details of the case. "We're looking as best we can at what's going on with the investigation and the law."

Jones' grandmother, Mary Lee Jones, said she didn't know her granddaughter was pregnant. She said her granddaughter often seems troubled and likely needs professional counseling more than jail.

"I think now, in the position she's in, she needs to be evaluated," Jones' grandmother said. "She's just not herself."

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-06-10

[Basil B]

They should go for the people who sold the drugs on line...

[JetsetBkk]

The police report does not say how far along Jones was in her pregnancy.

Pity, since that has an enormous bearing on the matter.

[ABCer]

They should go for the people who sold the drugs on line...

I would be careful there, BB. You are talking about multi billion dollars industry.

A law suit for every side effect might follow.

[Seastallion]

The police report does not say how far along Jones was in her pregnancy.

Pity, since that has an enormous bearing on the matter.

"WALB-TV reported (http://bit.ly/1Irtzju) earlier that authorities said Jones was about 5 ½ months pregnant."

Why would it have enormous bearing when, " She noted state law explicitly prohibits prosecuting women for feticide involving their own pregnancies."?

[oneday]

Because there is a huge debate as to how far along you are before an abortion is not viable or verging on criminal. People can argue pretty strongly that this baby was more than an egg that had divided a few times and the fetus stood a good chance of living if it had been premature.

I am very pro-choice, but 5 1/2 months along is too far along. At that point the lady should have just had the baby and given it up for adoption if she felt that strongly.

The youngest baby to have been born premature and survive (Amillis Taylor) was just 21 weeks and 6 days old. That is two weeks BEFORE the age where a fetus can be legally terminated in the US according to Google search. This baby was well past that age if it was indeed 5 1/2 months old.

THAT IS WHY THE AGE OF THE FETUS MATTERS.

Now whether of not she should be charged for murder. That might be going a bit far, but she was only 3 1/2 months away from it being definite murder. It's hard to say what I think she should be charged for.

Edited June 11, 2015 by oneday

[Seastallion]

I take your point, Oneday, and I have a similar stance to choice and advancement of the pregnancy to you, but the fact remains that GA law explicitly prohibits prosecuting a mother for feticide, so the age of the foetus is moot here.

It's the procurer of the abortion that stands to be prosecuted here....but this story is about the arrest of the mother.

[ggt]

Though I am personally against abortion...the murder charge of this woman is ridiculous...if she had PAID an abortion doctor to take the child..it would have been perfectly legal...go figure...this stinks to high heaven...

[sanuk711]

I guess they should just execute her now then-------- now that's still legal to do there isn't it.......

not breaking any laws there........

Edited June 11, 2015 by sanuk711

[manarak]

pffff... the USA...

I support the right to abortion.

[thousandpercent]

They should go for the people who sold the drugs on line...

As long as you're pretending to be a lawyer, why not explain your legal theory? What charges do you propose?

[LomSak27]

Is it really that surprising? This is Georgia, the US's equivalent to Baan Nock Isaan. Sadly they're just a bunch of country ignorant Chicken Farmers down there in a fiefdom ruled by Conservative politicos..

I don't understand why the US allows such ignorance, and poverty. They should send can international aid and send it to Georgia. Might as well send Peace Corps Volunteers too, although it might be too dangerous a place for them.

[gchurch259]

Wow, pretty strong wording !! Were you perhaps born and raised in Georgia ? I think not, I was not born there but was raised from age 8 there. While there is room for improvement, as in any state in the USA Georgia is not too bad !!

In short, Don't eat too many bowls of "Bovine Fertilizer" for breakfast tomorrow !!

Is it really that surprising? This is Georgia, the US's equivalent to Baan Nock Isaan. Sadly they're just a bunch of country ignorant Chicken Farmers down there in a fiefdom ruled by Conservative politicos..

I don't understand why the US allows such ignorance, and poverty. They should send can international aid and send it to Georgia. Might as well send Peace Corps Volunteers too, although it might be too dangerous a place for them.

[Linky]

I guess they should just execute her now then-------- now that's still legal to do there isn't it.......

not breaking any laws there........

Would you care to wait until she is found guilty or just do it now. Even though she has not broken any law.

[Chicog]

Seems the jesus wheezers run that county.

One hopes the lawsuit is enough to cripple them.

[Scott]

Troll posts removed along with replies.