CONROE, Texas — A grand jury in Montgomery County, Texas, handed down an indictment against a man accused of secretly providing abortion medication to a pregnant woman, resulting in the death of her unborn child. The man could face up to life in prison if convicted under the new Texas abortion law.
Montgomery County District Attorney Mike Holley announced this week that 25-year-old John Ruben Demeter faces charges of illegal performance of an abortion and injury to a child after he secretly provided abortion medication by crushing the pills and mixing them into the woman’s drink. He allegedly ordered the abortion pills online and had them shipped to his home, Fox 26’s Karys Belger reported.
“We believe this is the first time in the state of Texas it has been used to prosecute anyone in the state,” Holley told reporters while discussing the state’s new abortion statute.
Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said they arrested Demeter on February 23, and he has remained in custody. His arrest followed a woman entering a hospital on February 21, seeking medical attention. She told the hospital she had been given the abortion inducing medication without her knowledge.
Officials identified the unborn child as Presley May and said the mother was 14 weeks along in her pregnancy at the time of the unlawful abortion.
A defense attorney not connected to the case told Fox 26 that the circumstances raise “unique legal questions,” the station reported.
“In this case, it’s basically an assault where a person is causing serious bodily injury or death to a fetus… without their consent, without them knowing about it,” DeSoto told the news outlet.
Demeter will next appear before the 221st District Court in Conroe on Thursday.
The unlawful abortion charge is a First Degree felony, punishable by a range of five years to life in prison, if he is convicted on the charge.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.