US Mother Bags 2 Years in Prison for Giving Daughter Abortion Pills
Jessica Burgess, a resident of Nebraska in the United States, has been sentenced to two years in prison for her involvement in assisting her teenage daughter in obtaining abortion pills, Excel Magazine International has gathered.
According to The New York Times, Burgess and her daughter faced charges for their collaborative efforts to terminate Celeste Burgess’ pregnancy last year.
Jessica Burgess had ordered the abortion pills online and provided them to her 17-year-old daughter, who was in her third trimester of pregnancy at the time. This information was disclosed by prosecutors, as cited by The Times.
Authorities have alleged that the Burgesses later buried the fetal remains.
The investigation into this case began in April 2022 when there were concerns raised regarding Celeste Burgess giving birth prematurely to a stillborn child, which was purportedly buried.
In July, the daughter received a 90-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to the removal or concealment of human skeletal remains.
During the same month, Jessica Burgess also pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including violating Nebraska’s abortion law, furnishing false information to a law enforcement officer, and removing or concealing human skeletal remains.
Celeste Burgess, who was released earlier in the month, was present in the courtroom when her mother was sentenced.
The judge overseeing the case denied a request from Jessica Burgess’ lawyer to grant her probation, stating that she had treated the fetal remains “like yesterday’s trash.”
The sentenced 42-year-old mother faced five charges, including one under a 2010 law that permits abortion only up to 20 weeks after fertilization.
Police began investigating the Burgesses before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, but their case and subsequent convictions have fanned fears of how women and anyone helping them could be prosecuted for abortions in the wake of the landmark reversal.
