In 2022, then 26-year-old Lizelle Gonzalez was charged with murder after she she took an abortion pill while 19 weeks pregnant and went to a local hospital in the Rio Grande Valley, where a stillborn child was delivered by cesarean section.
Gonzalez was arrested after hospital employees informed the Starr County DA’s office. The case made national headlines even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade.
Attorneys for Gonzalez held a press conference Tuesday to discuss her $1 million lawsuit against Starr County District Attorney Gocha Ramirez.
Gonzalez is suing Ramirez, Assistant District Attorney Alexandria Barrera, and Starr County for deprivation of liberty, reputational harm, and distress, pain, and suffering.
Attorneys Cecilia Garza and Veronica Martinez with Gaza Martinez PLLC spoke about the lawsuit.
“The legal basis of Ms. Gonzalez’ lawsuit is not about her reproductive rights,” Garza said. “The legal basis of this lawsuit is the unconstitutional violation of her basic civil rights when she was arrested and charged with a crime that does not exist in the state of Texas.”
State law does not allow criminal prosecutions against women who induce their own abortions.
Garza cited Texas Penal Code Section 19.06, which does not allow criminal prosecutions against women who induce their own abortions. It states, "This chapter does not apply to the death of an unborn child if the conduct charged is conduct committed by the mother of the unborn child.”
Gonzalez spent three days at the Starr County jail after her arrest with a bond set at $500,000. The charges were later dropped.
Ramirez was later disciplined by the state bar for the arrest.
The attorneys said at the press conference Ramirez and Barrera have both been served with the lawsuit, but Starr County has not yet been served.
“Lizelle’s life was forever changed by the blatant violation of her civil rights,” said Martinez on Tuesday. “We will not sit on the sidelines and allow this abuse of power to continue."
The Starr County DA's office did not respond to TPR’s request for comment on the case.
