Georgia woman’s nightmare takes chilling turn as police bring shocking murder charge for abortion pills
The fight for reproductive rights.
A Georgia woman is facing a murder charge after police say she took pills to induce an abortion, a shocking development in the ongoing legal battles surrounding reproductive rights. Alexia Moore, 31, has been jailed in Camden County since March 4, also facing charges of illegal drug possession. This case could mark one of the first times a woman has been charged with murder for terminating a pregnancy in Georgia since the state passed its 2019 law.
According to the NY Post, Moore arrived at a hospital on December 30 complaining of abdominal pain. She reportedly told medical staff that she had taken misoprostol, a drug used in medication abortions, along with the opioid painkiller oxycodone.
The arrest warrant states that the fetus was delivered at the hospital and survived for about an hour. According to the warrant, Moore allegedly told the nursing staff, “I know my infant is suffering, because I am the one who did the abortion. I want her to die.” Georgia’s abortion law bans the procedure after embryonic cardiac activity can be detected, which usually happens around six weeks of gestation, often before many women even realize they are pregnant.
No one should be criminalized for having an abortion
The warrant notes that medical records estimated Moore had been pregnant for 22 to 24 weeks, placing the fetus near the threshold of viability. It refers to Moore’s fetus as “a human being who was born alive and survived for one hour,” stating that under Georgia law, “the victim became a person at the moment of live birth.”
Dana Sussman, senior vice president of the advocacy group Pregnancy Justice, strongly criticized the charge, calling it “an unprecedented murder charge for an alleged abortion.” She emphasized that no one should be criminalized for having an abortion.
Andrew Fleischman, a Georgia defense attorney not involved in Moore’s case, explained that the state’s law defines an embryo as a person once cardiac activity is detected. He said that this means authorities could seek murder charges against a woman who intentionally terminates her pregnancy after that point.
“Murder is intentionally causing the death of a person,” Fleischman stated, noting that he and others had warned this type of charge was possible before the law passed. However, he also expressed surprise if prosecutors actually go through with it, despite believing it to be a “totally legally permissible case.”
The decision on whether to prosecute Moore for murder ultimately rests with District Attorney Keith Higgins of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit. He would first need to obtain an indictment from a grand jury. Moore’s attorney has already filed legal motions seeking bond and a speedy trial, with a court hearing scheduled for Monday.
Elizabeth Edmonds, executive director of the anti-abortion Georgia Life Alliance, argued that claims connecting the charges to the 2019 abortion law are “misrepresenting the facts and trying to again make it a fear-mongering thing that Georgia is prosecuting women on pregnancy outcomes.” Edmonds believes the murder charge is appropriate, partly because Moore is accused of illegally obtaining and taking oxycodone before the fetus died.
Regarding the medical details, a toxicology screening reportedly detected oxycodone in the fetus’s blood, though police were informed the test couldn’t detect misoprostol. The warrant says Moore told police she obtained the abortion pills online and got the opioid from a relative.
Interestingly, Camden County Coroner M. Wayne Peeples stated that he did not rule the death a homicide, finding both the cause and manner of death undetermined. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation also declined to perform an autopsy.
This case highlights a broader trend. A 2024 study by Pregnancy Justice found that at least 210 women across the US were charged with crimes related to their pregnancies in the 12 months following the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. That number represents more cases than in any other 12-month period, with most allegations involving substance use during pregnancy.
It’s also worth noting that while misoprostol and mifepristone are FDA-approved for terminating pregnancies in the first 10 weeks, Louisiana recently classified them as controlled dangerous substances. Similar legislation has been introduced elsewhere but hasn’t been adopted.
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