Lizelle Herrera Gonzalez, then 26, was 19 weeks pregnant when she used misoprostol, one of two drugs used in medical abortions. After taking this pill, the young woman underwent an obstetric examination at the hospital and was discharged with abdominal pain.
The next day she returned with bleeding and the exam revealed no fetal heartbeat. Doctors then performed a cesarean section to deliver a stillborn baby. The hospital, according to court documents attached to the complaint Thursday, reported the voluntary abortion to the Starr County prosecutor's office, which then charged the woman with murder.