SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Reproductive Justice forAll
(Photo: Charlotte Cooper/cc/flickr)
Following Outrage, Georgia Drops Anti-Choice Murder Charges
Jun 10, 2015
Following strong public outcry, officials on Wednesday dropped the murder charges against Kenlissa Jones, the 23-year-old Georgia mother who on Saturday was arrested for allegedly self-inducing an abortion.
"The Albany Police Department had charged Jones for the offense of malice murder," the Dougherty County district attorney, Greg Edwards, said in a statement. "However, this morning, I dismissed that malice murder warrant after thorough legal research by myself and my staff led to the conclusion that Georgia law presently does not permit prosecution of Ms Jones for any alleged acts relating to the end of her pregnancy."
According to local news WALB, Jones will still be charged with a misdemeanor for possession of a dangerous drug for obtaining the abortion drug Cytotec allegedly from a Canadian source.
Advocates say that Jones' case illustrates the limited choices women are given as states increasingly slash health funding and criminalize reproductive rights.
"It is shocking each and every time we see an attempt to deny pregnant women their human rights and to treat them and the fact that they are pregnant as a crime rather than a public health issue," said Lynn Paltrow, an attorney and the executive director of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Following strong public outcry, officials on Wednesday dropped the murder charges against Kenlissa Jones, the 23-year-old Georgia mother who on Saturday was arrested for allegedly self-inducing an abortion.
"The Albany Police Department had charged Jones for the offense of malice murder," the Dougherty County district attorney, Greg Edwards, said in a statement. "However, this morning, I dismissed that malice murder warrant after thorough legal research by myself and my staff led to the conclusion that Georgia law presently does not permit prosecution of Ms Jones for any alleged acts relating to the end of her pregnancy."
According to local news WALB, Jones will still be charged with a misdemeanor for possession of a dangerous drug for obtaining the abortion drug Cytotec allegedly from a Canadian source.
Advocates say that Jones' case illustrates the limited choices women are given as states increasingly slash health funding and criminalize reproductive rights.
"It is shocking each and every time we see an attempt to deny pregnant women their human rights and to treat them and the fact that they are pregnant as a crime rather than a public health issue," said Lynn Paltrow, an attorney and the executive director of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Following strong public outcry, officials on Wednesday dropped the murder charges against Kenlissa Jones, the 23-year-old Georgia mother who on Saturday was arrested for allegedly self-inducing an abortion.
"The Albany Police Department had charged Jones for the offense of malice murder," the Dougherty County district attorney, Greg Edwards, said in a statement. "However, this morning, I dismissed that malice murder warrant after thorough legal research by myself and my staff led to the conclusion that Georgia law presently does not permit prosecution of Ms Jones for any alleged acts relating to the end of her pregnancy."
According to local news WALB, Jones will still be charged with a misdemeanor for possession of a dangerous drug for obtaining the abortion drug Cytotec allegedly from a Canadian source.
Advocates say that Jones' case illustrates the limited choices women are given as states increasingly slash health funding and criminalize reproductive rights.
"It is shocking each and every time we see an attempt to deny pregnant women their human rights and to treat them and the fact that they are pregnant as a crime rather than a public health issue," said Lynn Paltrow, an attorney and the executive director of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.