According to the New York Times, Jessica Burgess, a woman from the US state of Nebraska who was accused of assisting her teenage daughter in obtaining abortion drugs, received a two-year prison sentence on Friday.
Last year, Burgess and her daughter were accused of conspiring to end Celeste Burgess’ pregnancy.
According to the Times, which cited prosecutors, Jessica Burgess placed the internet order for the tablets and provided them to her daughter, who was 17 at the time and in the third trimester of her pregnancy.
The Burgesses later buried the fetal bones, according to the authorities.
In April 2022, police began investigating “concerns” that Celeste Burgess had given birth prematurely to a stillborn child, which was allegedly buried.
This July, the daughter was sentenced to 90 days in jail after she pleaded guilty to removing or concealing human skeletal remains.
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The same month, Jessica Burgess pleaded guilty to violating Nebraska’s abortion law, furnishing false information to a law enforcement officer and removing or concealing human skeletal remains.
The Norfolk Daily News stated that Celeste Burgess, who was released earlier this month, was present in court and wiped tears from her cheeks as her mother was sentenced on Friday.
The judge reportedly turned down Jessica Burgess’ lawyer’s request for probation, stating that Jessica had handled the unborn remains “like yesterday’s trash.”
Five charges were brought against the 42-year-old mother, one of which was in violation of a 2010 statute that only permitted abortions up to 20 weeks after fertilization.
Police started looking into the Burgesses before the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in June 2022, but their case and ensuing convictions have stoked concerns about how women and anyone assisting them would be charged with having an abortion after the historic decision.
In August, Facebook sparked outrage by complying with the police investigation, boosting concerns that the platform will be a tool for clamping down on anyone involved in abortion procedures.
AFP
