Could Facebook messages be used in abortion-related prosecution?
Shefali Luthra
Health Reporter, The 19th
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A Nebraska case involving a mother who illegally gave her daughter an abortion pill has put renewed attention on the role digital information and communication could play in prosecutions around abortion.
In April 2022, Celeste Burgess, who was then 17, used medication to terminate a pregnancy when she was past 20 weeks, which was the cutoff in the state at the time. Facebook messages between her and her mother, Jessica Burgess, showed them discussing how to procure the medication, which Jessica said she acquired for her daughter. Celeste and Jessica told the court that after delivering the stillborn fetus, they burned and buried it.
Both mother and daughter pleaded guilty to felony charges. Celeste, now 18, was sentenced to 90 days in jail on Thursday. Jessica will face sentencing in September.