Murder charge dropped against woman who induced abortion

ALBANY, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia prosecutor dropped a murder charge Wednesday but is pursuing a drug possession count against a 23-year-old woman accused of ending her pregnancy without a prescription, using pills she bought online.


Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards dismissed a malice murder charge against 23-year-old Kenlissia Jones, who spent about three days in jail after seeking help at a hospital.

But he said Jones still faces a misdemeanor charge of possessing a dangerous drug, which Georgia law defines as any drug requiring a prescription.

The dismissal of the murder charge police had used to arrest Jones was praised by Lynn Paltrow, an attorney and executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women in New York.

But she said the case still illustrates a creeping trend of prosecuting women who exercise their right to abortions.

"She was arrested and held without bond in a health crisis," Paltrow said. "You do not want to have a pregnant woman fear arrest as a result of the outcome of her pregnancy or for seeking health care."

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