SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Police have charged a 31-year-old woman from Georgia with murder, alleging she took medication to induce an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, a stage at which the procedure is banned in the state.
Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to proceed with the murder charge against Alexia Moore, which, if pursued, would mark a rare case of a woman facing charges for terminating a pregnancy in Georgia since the state passed a 2019 law banning most abortions.
Despite the six-week abortion ban in Georgia, self-managing an abortion by taking pills is not explicitly illegal. The state’s abortion law lacks a specific provision to protect individuals from criminalization for self-managed abortions, although a previous similar 2015 case saw charges dropped.
The arrest warrant against Moore, echoing the legal language, indicates that police concluded she was more than six weeks pregnant based on medical staff’s observation that the fetus had a heartbeat and struggled to breathe.
“No one should be criminalized for having an abortion,” stated Dana Sussman, senior vice president of the advocacy group Pregnancy Justice, describing Moore’s case as “an unprecedented murder charge for an alleged abortion.”
Court records reveal that Moore visited a hospital on December 30, reporting abdominal pain. She informed medical staff that she had taken misoprostol, a medication used for medication abortions, and oxycodone, a painkiller. This information is according to an arrest warrant obtained by Kingsland police, located about 100 miles south of Savannah.
The warrant indicates that the fetus lived for approximately an hour after being delivered at the hospital. The investigator wrote that Moore told nursing staff: “I know my infant is suffering, because I am the one who did the abortion. I want her to die.”
Georgia prohibits abortion once embryonic cardiac activity is detected, typically around six weeks’ gestation, often before a woman knows she is pregnant.
Moore has been held in Camden County Jail since March 4, facing charges of murder and drug possession, according to jail records.
More pregnant women charged with crimes since Roe was overturned
A 2024 study by Pregnancy Justice disclosed that at least 210 women nationwide faced charges related to their pregnancies in the year following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed state-enforced abortion bans.
This number exceeded any similar 12-month period, with most cases involving allegations of substance use during pregnancy.
Moore’s mother declined to comment when contacted by phone on Thursday. A Georgia Public Defender Council spokesperson confirmed representation for Moore but did not provide additional details.
Court filings show Moore’s attorney has requested bond and a speedy trial, with a hearing set for Monday.
District Attorney Keith Higgins of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit will decide on prosecuting Moore for murder, contingent on obtaining a grand jury indictment. Higgins did not respond to phone and email queries.
Some had warned Georgia abortion law could lead to murder charges
The warrant suggests medical records estimated Moore was 22 to 24 weeks pregnant, nearing fetal viability. It describes the fetus as a “human being” born alive and surviving for an hour, asserting it became a legal person under Georgia law at live birth.
Georgia law considers an embryo a legal person once cardiac activity is detected. Georgia defense attorney Andrew Fleischman, not involved in Moore’s case, noted this allows authorities to charge a woman with murder if she intentionally ends a pregnancy after cardiac activity is detected.
“Murder is intentionally causing the death of a person,” Fleischman explained, mentioning some had warned the law could lead to similar charges.
“I’m not sure prosecutors are eager to be the first one to jump this hurdle,” Fleischman added. “I think it’s a totally legally permissible case. I think they could do it. I’d be surprised if they go through with it.”
Elizabeth Edmonds, executive director of the anti-abortion Georgia Life Alliance, argued that linking the charges to the 2019 abortion law misrepresents the facts and attempts to incite fear about Georgia prosecuting women for pregnancy outcomes.
Edmonds supported the murder charge partly because Moore allegedly obtained and used oxycodone illegally before the fetus died.
Coroner says he didn’t rule death a homicide
The warrant indicates a toxicology test found oxycodone in the fetus’ blood, though police were informed the test couldn’t detect misoprostol. Moore reportedly told police she acquired abortion pills online and received the opioid from a relative.
Camden County Coroner M. Wayne Peeples stated he was called to Southeast Georgia Health System’s hospital to collect the remains. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation opted not to perform an autopsy, given the hospital delivery.
The coroner did not classify the death as a homicide, deeming the cause and manner of death undetermined.
Moore also faces charges for possessing oxycodone, a controlled substance not prescribed to her, and possessing the abortion-inducing drug misoprostol.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves misoprostol and mifepristone for terminating pregnancies up to ten weeks. Misoprostol can be used alone if mifepristone is unavailable and is also used off-label for second-trimester abortions.
In 2024, Louisiana categorized mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances. Similar laws have been proposed in other states and Congress but have not been enacted elsewhere.
AP journalists Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and Jeff Amy and Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed to this story.
This article has been updated by JS to give more context around self-managed abortion laws in the state of Georgia.
