Georgia judge blasts 'extremely problematic' murder charge against woman for taking abortion pills as he frees her on tiny bond amount
A Georgia judge granted a one-dollar bond for a woman accused by police of taking pills to induce an illegal abortion.
Alexia Moore, 31, was arrested on March 4 on charges of murder and illegal drug possession.
Police say she violated Georgia's strict anti-abortion law in December when she gave birth to a baby girl who died about an hour later after Moore allegedly took abortion drugs.
The state law bans abortions after embryonic cardiac activity can be detected, which is generally at about six weeks' gestation. Police say Moore was between 22 and 24 weeks pregnant.
However, at a bond hearing on Monday, Superior Court Judge Steven Blackerby, who was appointed to the bench in January, questioned whether the murder charge would stick, The New York Times reported.
'I think that charge is extremely problematic. That is going to be a hard charge to convict upon,' Blackerby said.
He set a $1 bond for the murder charge, as well as $1,000 bond amounts for each of the two drug charges Moore faces.
District Attorney Keith Higgins did not challenge the bond amount in court and told the judge that police had not consulted his office before charging Moore, according to The Current.
Alexia Moore, 31, has been charged with murder after police say she took pills to induce an illegal abortion
Moore delivered a baby girl at Southeast Georgia Health System hospital in Camden County who lived for only an hour on December 30
Superior Court Judge Steven Blackerby questioned if the charge would stick and granted Moore a $1 bond on the murder charge
Moore arrived at Southeast Georgia Health System hospital in Camden County on December 30, complaining of abdominal pain, court records state.
She told medical workers that she had taken misoprostol, a drug used in medication abortions, and the opioid painkiller oxycodone, according to an arrest warrant.
The baby girl survived for about an hour after being delivered at the hospital, the warrant stated.
The police investigator wrote that Moore told the nursing staff: 'I know my infant is suffering, because I am the one who did the abortion. I want her to die.'
Medical records obtained by investigators estimate that Moore had been pregnant for 22 to 24 weeks.
The warrant also cited 'the medical staff's knowledge that the baby had a beating heart and was struggling to breathe.'
In order to send Moore to trial for murder, Higgins' office would first need to obtain an indictment from a grand jury.
Her case would be one of the first instances of a woman being charged for terminating a pregnancy in Georgia since it passed a 2019 law banning most abortions.
District Attorney Keith Higgins did not challenge the bond amount in court and told the judge that police had not consulted his office before charging Moore
Online jail records show that Moore posted bond and was released Monday. She is being represented by attorneys from the Georgia Public Defender Council, which applauded the judge´s decision.
'Today's decision is a reminder that justice is not served by accusation alone,' the council said in a statement.
'Our system works best when courts carefully weigh the facts, uphold constitutional protections, and safeguard the rights of every person who comes before them.'
The Daily Mail contacted Higgins' office for comment.
