A North Carolina prosecutor dropped every charge against a teen couple accused of using abortion pills at 31 weeks, saying state law does not let her charge a mother for harm to her own unborn child.
Story Snapshot
- Durham County’s district attorney dropped all charges against Syeisha Johnson, 18, and Elijah Speight, 19.
- Police had alleged Johnson took abortion pills late in pregnancy, and the baby was born alive in a toilet in July.
- The baby survived after CPR and is in the care of Johnson’s mother, according to reports.
- A pro-family group called the decision “a tragic failure of accountability.”
- The child survived and is in the care of Johnson’s mother, and the couple may have unsupervised visits, according to reports.
What the Durham Prosecutor Decided and Why It Matters
On Tuesday, October 27, court filings showed that Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry, the county’s top prosecutor, had dismissed all charges against Johnson and Speight. In a letter to the couple’s lawyers, Deberry said North Carolina law does not treat an unborn baby as a child under its child abuse laws. She also pointed out that the state law on injuring an unborn child exempts acts by a pregnant woman toward her own unborn child.
“The Durham County District Attorney will not ask the Court to create a new class of victims and an entirely new basis for criminalization,” Deberry wrote. “That is the role of the NC General Assembly.” She also said, “These two young people are not a danger to our community,” according to reports. Back in August, Deberry had said she had been “on the record, over and over again, saying that I believe a woman has the right to choose,” and that the evidence in this case would be reviewed “in that light.”
The NC Values Coalition, a conservative family-policy group, called the dismissal “a tragic failure of accountability.” Its executive director, Tami Fitzgerald, said, “This is a deeply troubling development,” adding that “justice cannot be served for this vulnerable child.”
Competing Accounts: Alleged Pills, a Toilet Birth, and an Infant Who Lived
According to warrants and court documents, Johnson learned in June that she was about 20 weeks pregnant. Police say she then ordered mifepristone, an abortion drug, from Virginia, along with misoprostol, a second drug often used with it. Investigators allege she took the pills when she was about 31 weeks pregnant. North Carolina law bans most abortions after 12 weeks.
On July 29, Durham police officers and firefighters were called to the couple’s home and found a baby born early in a toilet. The baby needed CPR and was taken to a hospital. The child survived and is in the care of Johnson’s mother, and the couple may have unsupervised visits, according to reports. Long-term health problems are not expected. Johnson was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, negligent child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury, and assault inflicting serious bodily injury on an unborn child. Speight was charged with negligent child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.
The Law’s Hurdles: Causation, Timing, and Charge-by-Charge Proof
In a criminal case, prosecutors must prove each part of each charge. Deberry’s letter said the evidence did not show when Johnson took the pills. That matters because abortion is legal in North Carolina through 12 weeks. The letter also said the evidence did not prove the pills caused the early delivery. “Spontaneous preterm labor and delivery are not uncommon,” she wrote. Preterm labor means a baby comes before 37 weeks.
Deberry also found no evidence that the couple neglected the baby after the birth. She pointed to their quick 911 call as a sign they did not mean to harm the child, according to reports. Pro-life groups and many readers see it very differently. To them, a living baby who needed CPR after a third-trimester pill attempt is proof of grave wrongdoing, and the dismissal leaves that child with no one held to account.
What Conservatives Should Watch Next
Deberry’s own letter put the next move on state lawmakers. She said it is the job of the NC General Assembly, not the courts, to decide whether this kind of act should be a crime. That turns the case into a test for the legislature. Lawmakers can decide whether state law should protect a baby who survives a late-term pill attempt, and how to handle abortion pills mailed in from other states. Until they act, cases like this will turn on how prosecutors read the laws already on the books.
Sources:
lifesitenews.com, newsobserver.com, wnct.com, lifenews.com, liveaction.org
