It’s unclear whether the woman, who CNN is not naming, had an abortion herself or had in some way assisted in one.
The Texas woman was initially indicted on a murder charge after “intentionally and knowingly caus[ing] the death of an individual by self-induced abortion,” according to the statement from Maj. Carlos Delgado of the Starr County Sheriff’s Office, obtained by CNN affiliate KRGV.
Ramirez will file the motion to dismiss the indictment on Monday, his statement said, but stressed that the sheriff’s office acted according to its responsibilities under the law.
“In reviewing this case, it is clear that the Starr County Sheriff’s Department did their duty in investigating the incident brought to their attention by the reporting hospital. To ignore the incident would have been a dereliction of their duty,” Ramirez’s statement reads.
“Prosecutorial discretion rests with the District Attorney’s office, and in the State of Texas a prosecutor’s oath is to do justice. Following that oath, the only correct outcome to this matter is to immediately dismiss the indictment,” Ramirez adds.
CNN’s calls and emails to Delgado and the sheriff’s office were not returned on Saturday or Sunday.
The woman’s lawyer did not respond to CNN’s request for comment Saturday and Sunday. Messages were also left with representatives from the Frontera Fund over the weekend.
News of the arrest provoked outrage from abortion-rights supporters in light of Texas’ strict abortion legislation passed last year. One new law bans abortion providers from carrying out terminations after early cardiac activity is detected in a fetus. A second law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in September prohibits a person “from providing an abortion-inducing drug to a pregnant woman without satisfying the applicable informed consent requirements for abortions.”
Ramirez acknowledged in his statement that “it is clear to me that the events leading up to this indictment have taken a toll” on the woman and her family.
“To ignore this fact would be shortsighted. The issues surrounding this matter are clearly contentious, however based on Texas law and the facts presented, it is not a criminal matter,” Ramirez said.
CNN’s Monique Smith contributed to this report.
