DA declines to seek murder charges in abortion case
Woman accused of using pills to end pregnancy
By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff
March 29, 2007

An 18-year-old Dominican immigrant charged two months ago with illegally inducing an abortion by taking anti-ulcer pills will not face homicide charges, prosecutors said yesterday.

Prosecutors had been considering the more serious charge after Amber Abreu prematurely delivered a 1-pound girl named Ashley at Lawrence General Hospital on Jan. 6. She died four days later. Abreu, a Lawrence resident, allegedly admitted that she had taken three Cytotec pills before giving birth, an abortion method that is common in some Latin American communities, authorities said.

Abortion is illegal in Massachusetts after 24 weeks of pregnancy, and any action to cause a miscarriage after that threshold could lead to homicide charges. the rest