A Texas woman has been charged with murder after she caused "the death of an individual by self-induced abortion," according to state authorities.
Lizelle Herrera, 26, is the woman who has been charged, but it has not been made clear whether she is accused of having an abortion or helping someone else get one.
Sheriff's Maj. Carlos Delgado said in a statement that the 26-year-old was arrested and indicted "on the charge of Murder after Herrera did then and there intentionally and knowingly cause the death of an individual by self-induced abortion," the Associated Press reported.
It is not known under what law Herrera was charged, and Delgado said that no other information would be released until at least Monday while the investigation into the case remains ongoing.
A University of Texas law professor, Stephen Vladeck, shared with the AP that a criminal homicide charge is not on the table, as Texas law exempts a woman from being charged with it for aborting her own pregnancy.
"[Homicide] doesn't apply to the murder of an unborn child if the conduct charged is 'conduct committed by the mother of the unborn child,'" Vladeck said.
Other laws in the state make it illegal for doctors or clinics to give women abortion-inducing medications after they get to seven weeks pregnant. Still, Vladeck said medication abortions are not considered self-induced.
Texas has been at the forefront of conversations for both pro-and anti-abortionists as a state law from 2021 made it illegal for women who are as early as six weeks pregnant to get an abortion.
The law also gives private citizens the ability to sue doctors or anyone who helps a woman get an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The woman who receives the abortion is exempt from the law.
"It is murder in Texas to take steps that terminate a fetus, but when a medical provider does it, it can't be prosecuted," Vladeck said.
Herrera is currently in jail on a $500,000 bond in Starr County Jail in Rio Grande City after being arrested and charged on Thursday, Delgado said.
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