Mexican Immigrant May Face Two Years in Prison for Self-Induced Abortion Under South Carolina Law

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 04 May 2005 - 9:00 PDT

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A 22-year-old Mexican immigrant who lives in Pelion, South Carolina, has been charged with performing an abortion on herself, which is illegal in South Carolina, and could face up to two years in prison and a $1,000 fine, the... Columbia State reports. Gabriela Flores, a migrant worker who speaks no English and has three children, on Oct. 1, 2004, after discovering she was pregnant took pills sent to her from her sister in Mexico, causing an abortion at four months gestation, according to police reports. Flores said she took five misoprostol pills -- ulcer medication that also is used to cause a medical abortion -- and gave birth to a dead fetus. Flores and a friend then buried the fetus in their backyard, but they failed to notify a coroner of the abortion. Five days later, an acquaintance of Flores notified police, saying that she had heard that the fetus had been born alive. Although police decided against charging Flores with murder because they could not prove that the fetus could have survived on its own, they charged her with illegal abortion and failure to notify a coroner. She was jailed for four months before being released on her own recognizance. According to the South Carolina Office of Court Administration, Flores' case is the only pending case of illegal abortion in the state, although court records show that there have been five similar cases in the state from 2000 to 2004. Some people say that Flores' case "raises questions about how poor Hispanics are treated" by the state judiciary system and about their limited access to health care services, according to the State. Nationwide, Hispanic women have higher rates of abortion than white women, mainly because of correspondingly high rates of unintended pregnancy, according to the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. NLIRH Executive Director Silvia Henriquez said that language and poverty often are barriers for Hispanic women who wish to obtain legal abortions (Brundrett, Columbia State, 5/1).

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