A resident of Star County, Texas is suing prosecutors and the local sheriff after being charged with murder in a case that was eventually dismissed.
The Texas woman alleges that hospital staff provided information to prosecutors after she attempted her own abortion, leading to the faulty murder charge and her spending two days in jail.
Seeking Damages
Lizelle Gonzalez has filed a lawsuit against two district attorneys, the Starr County Sherriff, and Starr County itself seeking over $1 million in damages.
Gonzalez’s lawsuit alleges that these parties violated her Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process.
Incomplete Abortion
According to court documents, In 2022, Gonzalez took a medication called misoprostol to help induce an abortion on her own when she was 19 weeks pregnant. This resulted in an incomplete abortion where she was discharged from the emergency room after an examination and doctors detected the presence of a fetal heartbeat.
However, a short time later Gonzalez went back to the hospital, complaining of abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding. An examination determined there was no longer fetal cardiac activity and a cesarian section was performed, resulting in a stillbirth.
Texas Law
The state of Texas has multiple forms of abortion bans on the books. However, these bans do not penalize a woman who wants to try to seek out an abortion on her own.
Texas’ abortion bans only target medical professionals or others who aid a woman in getting an abortion and not the mother themselves. Only certain exceptions exist for abortions in Texas, one being if the mother’s life is in danger.
Giving Information Away
Gonzalez alleges that hospital staff gave her private medical information to prosecutors and the county sheriff which is what led to her eventually being charged with murder.
In her complaint, it is also alleged that the district attorney’s office and the Starr County sherriff’s office had agreements with the local hospital to report similar cases. Gonzalez’ alleges there are other women who have had their health information shared as well.
Lawsuit Greenlight
A federal judge at a July 24 hearing gave approval for Gonzalelz’s lawsuit to proceed after rejecting a motion for the lawsuit to be dropped. Gonzalez was unable to attend the hearing.
“She does suffer from anxiety. A lot of it related to the arrest and the incarceration,” Gonzalez’s attorney Cecilia Garza said. “She wasn’t able to be here today because she was just concerned about how it might affect her. But she’s very happy with today’s rulings.”
Immunity Claim
The defendants named in the lawsuit have attempted to claim immunity from civil liability. District Attorney Gocha Rameriez told the Associated Press that he “made a mistake” in filing charges against Gonzalez.
Defense attorney Rick Navarro at the July 24 hearing argued that this case was “at worst a negligence case.”
ACLU Support
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas has taken an interest in the case, allowing attorney David Donnati to help represent her.
“What we intend to show is that negligence doesn’t explain this oversight. It is the role and function of prosecutors to be aware of the elements of the statutes that they are charging,” said Donatti.
Suffering Damage
In her court filing, Gonzalez alleges that the incident forced her to suffer “humiliation” that has “permanently affected her standing in the community.”
“Because the charges stemmed from abortion – a hot button political agenda – the dismissal of the charges did not result in any less media attention,” the lawsuit says. “Rather, the media attention was heightened after the dismissal due to the fact that the prosecution was frivolous.”
Following the Rule of Law
In the wake of the July 24 hearing allowing the lawsuit to proceed, Donatti released a statement demanding officials follow the law properly.
“We expect and demand that our elected officials follow the rule of law, and that is especially true for officials elected to enforce the laws with so much power over our daily lives and personal decisions,” said Donatti.
Outraged at Officials
Attorney Garza also expressed outrage at the circumstances that brought her client distress, asserting that law enforcement needs to be held to account.
“When I first heard Lizelle’s story, I was outraged at the behavior of our elected officials,” said Garza. “The court’s decision today to allow this case to proceed gives me hope that courts will not allow these types of egregious acts to continue. Law enforcement need to be held accountable to the laws that they took an oath to uphold.”
Criticism of Immunity Doctrine
Lauren Johnson, director of the ACLU’s Abortion Criminal Defense Initiative, was critical of the immunity doctrine defense being used by the defendants.
“Immunity doctrine creates a culture in police departments and prosecutor offices where public officials may feel empowered to violate people’s rights, knowing they will face few – if any – consequences,” said Johnson.
