Calixtro Villarreal’s phone rang Saturday afternoon, about 48 hours after his client, Lizelle Herrera, was arrested and charged with murder — over what local authorities alleged was a “self-induced abortion.”
It was Gocha Ramirez, the district attorney in Starr County, Tex., a remote area on the border with Mexico. Herrera should never have been charged, Ramirez told the lawyer, according to a person familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private interactions.
The district attorney reiterated that sentiment in a text he sent the next day to an acquaintance. “I’m so sorry,” he wrote in the message, which was reviewed by The Washington Post. “I assure you I never meant to hurt this young lady.”
Texas woman charged with murder after abortion
Ramirez moved to drop all the charges Sunday. He did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Herrera. Villarreal declined to comment multiple times.
Abortion rights advocates in Texas and across the country seized on Herrera’s arrest soon after she was taken into custody Thursday, concerned that it might be connected to a new Texas law banning most abortions and, worse, pointed to an ominous future in which women seeking to terminate their pregnancies are treated as criminals.
However, interviews with several people in the South Texas community closely following the situation, as well as statements from leaders in the Texas antiabortion movement, suggest this was not part of a broader antiabortion strategy, but instead a hasty error by a first-term Democratic district attorney. Herrera’s husband -- who filed for divorce on the same day as her arrest -- is being represented by a prosecutor in the district attorney’s office, raising questions about a potential conflict of interests.
Still, Herrera’s arrest could inflame a growing state-by-state fight over abortion. The battle has intensified leading up to a Supreme Court decision this summer that could overturn or significantly weaken Roe v. Wade, the landmark precedent that has protected the right to abortion for nearly 50 years. Since the district attorney’s statement that it was a hospital that reported Herrera to law enforcement, her case has drawn sharp concerns from abortion rights activists, who worry that potential patient privacy violations could instill greater fear in women seeking access to legal abortion.
“There is already such a great degree of mistrust and fearfulness around abortion,” especially in Texas, said Blair Cushing, an abortion provider in South Texas.
Texas law explicitly exempts a woman from a criminal homicide charge for aborting her pregnancy. While many of the specifics of Herrera’s case remain unclear, even staunch antiabortion activists condemned her arrest. Texas Right to Life, the organization that helped draft the Texas abortion ban, said her indictment came as a surprise.
“The Texas Heartbeat Act and other pro-life policies in the state clearly prohibit criminal charges for pregnant women,” said John Seago, the group’s legislative director, referring to the Texas law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who helps facilitate an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. “Texas Right to Life opposes public prosecutors going outside of the bounds of Texas’s prudent and carefully crafted policies.”
A refuge for Texas patients, Oklahoma clinics brace for abortion ban
Cushing said she sees patients every day who buy pills in Mexico for a medication abortion — a two-step procedure that involves mifepristone and misoprostol — then come to her clinic for a check-up. After hearing that a woman in their region was charged with murder for an abortion, Cushing said she expects patients may try to hide the details of their situations — or they may not come to her at all.
In a statement issued Sunday, Ramirez acknowledged that the events surrounding the incident had clearly “taken a toll” on Herrera and her family.
“To ignore this fact would be shortsighted,” he said.
A hospital brought the case to the attention of the sheriff’s office, according to Ramirez’s statement. Rene “Orta” Fuentes, 61, who became sheriff in 2008 after spending nearly three decades in the department, did not respond to a request for comment.
Ross Barrera, a community organizer and former chairman of the Starr County Republican Party, said abortion is rarely discussed in public forums in the heavily Democratic county. He described Ramirez as a “hardcore Democrat” and said he simply made a misstep in the Herrera case.
“I think his office just failed in doing their work," he said. “I would put my hand on the Bible and say this was not a political statement.”
Tracking new action on abortion legislation across the states
Ramirez has been widely supportive of Democratic candidates. He backed the Democratic presidential ticket in 2020 on social media. He contributed to Democrat gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke last year, to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis in 2014 and to Democrat Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign in 2008, according to state and federal campaign records.
It was Gocha Ramirez, the district attorney in Starr County, Tex., a remote area on the border with Mexico. Herrera should never have been charged, Ramirez told the lawyer, according to a person familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private interactions.
The district attorney reiterated that sentiment in a text he sent the next day to an acquaintance. “I’m so sorry,” he wrote in the message, which was reviewed by The Washington Post. “I assure you I never meant to hurt this young lady.”
Texas woman charged with murder after abortion
Ramirez moved to drop all the charges Sunday. He did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Herrera. Villarreal declined to comment multiple times.
Abortion rights advocates in Texas and across the country seized on Herrera’s arrest soon after she was taken into custody Thursday, concerned that it might be connected to a new Texas law banning most abortions and, worse, pointed to an ominous future in which women seeking to terminate their pregnancies are treated as criminals.
However, interviews with several people in the South Texas community closely following the situation, as well as statements from leaders in the Texas antiabortion movement, suggest this was not part of a broader antiabortion strategy, but instead a hasty error by a first-term Democratic district attorney. Herrera’s husband -- who filed for divorce on the same day as her arrest -- is being represented by a prosecutor in the district attorney’s office, raising questions about a potential conflict of interests.
Still, Herrera’s arrest could inflame a growing state-by-state fight over abortion. The battle has intensified leading up to a Supreme Court decision this summer that could overturn or significantly weaken Roe v. Wade, the landmark precedent that has protected the right to abortion for nearly 50 years. Since the district attorney’s statement that it was a hospital that reported Herrera to law enforcement, her case has drawn sharp concerns from abortion rights activists, who worry that potential patient privacy violations could instill greater fear in women seeking access to legal abortion.
“There is already such a great degree of mistrust and fearfulness around abortion,” especially in Texas, said Blair Cushing, an abortion provider in South Texas.
Texas law explicitly exempts a woman from a criminal homicide charge for aborting her pregnancy. While many of the specifics of Herrera’s case remain unclear, even staunch antiabortion activists condemned her arrest. Texas Right to Life, the organization that helped draft the Texas abortion ban, said her indictment came as a surprise.
“The Texas Heartbeat Act and other pro-life policies in the state clearly prohibit criminal charges for pregnant women,” said John Seago, the group’s legislative director, referring to the Texas law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who helps facilitate an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. “Texas Right to Life opposes public prosecutors going outside of the bounds of Texas’s prudent and carefully crafted policies.”
A refuge for Texas patients, Oklahoma clinics brace for abortion ban
Cushing said she sees patients every day who buy pills in Mexico for a medication abortion — a two-step procedure that involves mifepristone and misoprostol — then come to her clinic for a check-up. After hearing that a woman in their region was charged with murder for an abortion, Cushing said she expects patients may try to hide the details of their situations — or they may not come to her at all.
In a statement issued Sunday, Ramirez acknowledged that the events surrounding the incident had clearly “taken a toll” on Herrera and her family.
“To ignore this fact would be shortsighted,” he said.
A hospital brought the case to the attention of the sheriff’s office, according to Ramirez’s statement. Rene “Orta” Fuentes, 61, who became sheriff in 2008 after spending nearly three decades in the department, did not respond to a request for comment.
Ross Barrera, a community organizer and former chairman of the Starr County Republican Party, said abortion is rarely discussed in public forums in the heavily Democratic county. He described Ramirez as a “hardcore Democrat” and said he simply made a misstep in the Herrera case.
“I think his office just failed in doing their work," he said. “I would put my hand on the Bible and say this was not a political statement.”
Tracking new action on abortion legislation across the states
Ramirez has been widely supportive of Democratic candidates. He backed the Democratic presidential ticket in 2020 on social media. He contributed to Democrat gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke last year, to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis in 2014 and to Democrat Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign in 2008, according to state and federal campaign records.
