The 20-year-old woman who was charged with self-abortion for the death of her 24-week fetus arrived in court today to find out that the Manhattan DA's office was dropping the charges. DNAinfo reports the prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to charge Yaribely Almonte.
In November, a building super found the fetus on West 191st Street, and police arrested Almonte. Almonte, who has a three-year-old daughter, reportedly told police that she drank an herbal tea and then delivered a stillborn baby.
NY State law says it's murder to kill a fetus 24 weeks or older, so charges were brought against Almonte. However, in the four other times women were charged self-abortion in New York, three cases were dismissed and one woman was given a conditional discharge. When the charges were announced last month, NOW NYC director Sonia Ossorio had told Metro, "It’s absolutely outlandish to charge her with self-abortion. Everyone would be better served if the D.A.’s office dropped this and instead tried to find some services to help her heal."
