Media Hoax: No, a Nebraska Teen Is Not Going to Jail For Having an Abortion
“Celeste Burgess, 19, was a minor when she was pregnant and had an abortion. Last week, a Nebraska judge sentenced Burgess to 90 days in jail.” – TIME Magazine
As Mary reported last week, the New York Times predictably buried the lede in a story they did on a case out of Nebraska involving a now-19-year-old woman who in April of 2022 when she was 17 years old had a medicine-induced abortion at 29 weeks after taking abortion pills her mother obtained for her.
Per court filings, the teenager and the mother then proceeded to burn and bury the fetus.
To recap, here’s how the paper reported the plea deals for Celeste and Jessica Burgess:
You have to read until 16 paragraphs down to find that she was not charged under the states abortion law. It was for removing skeletal remains, this was at 30 weeks pregnant. Noam Chomsky once said NYT is better if you read the articles backwards. pic.twitter.com/tvemu1qCW8
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) July 21, 2023
Unfortunately, the NY Times isn’t the only so-called news outlet to try to spin this as a teenager being punished with jail time for having an abortion in a post-Dobbs era.
So is TIME Magazine:
Another article that tries to suggest this case had to do with overturning Roe when really it’s about the mother and daughter conspiring to abort a viable baby 7.5 months into a pregnancy and then burn the body to cover it up…
Actions that were illegal before Dobbs. https://t.co/Nr5q1F1lKQ
— AG (@AGHamilton29) July 27, 2023
You have to read through 22 paragraphs before they add in this “Caveats” section that completely undermines every point they tried to use this case to make before then… pic.twitter.com/1AOAvUeCkq
— AG (@AGHamilton29) July 27, 2023
So is the BBC:
Nebraska teen sent to 90 days in jail over abortion https://t.co/r2wJphqhCj
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) July 21, 2023
And Rolling Stone:
A Nebraska teen who enlisted her mother’s help to obtain abortion pills in violation of state law has been sentenced to 90 days in jail. https://t.co/DbM6yoKSYs
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) July 20, 2023
And People:
Nebraska Teen Sentenced to Jail After Taking Abortion Pills to Terminate Pregnancy at 23 Weeks https://t.co/3mudrtfzp8
— People (@people) July 24, 2023
Though CNN mentioned the “disposing of the fetus,” they insinuated in their headline that part of Celeste Burgess’ sentence had to do with having the abortion:
A woman accused of having an illegal abortion in Nebraska when she was 17 and disposing of the fetus has been sentenced to 90 days in jail following a plea agreement https://t.co/ssxHMNJj2q
— CNN (@CNN) July 21, 2023
Naturally, The Usual Suspects ran with the false narrative because of course they did, including YouTuber/MSNBC contributor Brian Tyler Cohen and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY):
A Nebraska teenager has been sentenced to jail and charged as a felon after ending her pregnancy with abortion pills. She faces up to five years in prison.
🔗https://t.co/oSv3tcCr8t pic.twitter.com/PkiUGEgfci
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) July 21, 2023
The legacy of SCOTUS, which reversed Roe vs. Wade, is the criminalization of women in America.
Celeste Burgess, a Nebraska teenager who underwent a medically induced abortion, has been sentenced to a prison term of 90 days.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) July 22, 2023
As others pointed out, however, the nature of what Celeste Burgess pled to would have been illegal even in solidly blue, pro-abortion states like New York and California:
Yep. It isn’t a sob story of a woman in dire circumstances who seeked medical help. Abortion pill is for 1st trimester…This was a diy abortion done on a perfectly viable 29-week old baby, that they burned. Nevermind Nebraska, this would’ve been illegal in New York & California.
— EllyKayUSA (@EllyKayUSA) July 22, 2023
For the real story of what happened, here’s the Life News report:
In April 2022, authorities said Celeste Burgess was almost 30 weeks pregnant when her mother, Jessica, allegedly obtained abortion pills and gave them to her daughter, killing the unborn baby. Then, the mother and daughter allegedly burned the aborted baby’s body and threw it in a field in Madison County, the local news reports.
At first, police said their investigation centered around the improper disposal of the baby’s body. However, after further investigation, they said they discovered evidence that Jessica Burgess bought abortion drugs from a company in India and gave them to her pregnant daughter, according to the Norfolk Daily News.
[…]
However, police said they later found records of conversations online between the mother and daughter about abortion drugs.
“(Celeste Burgess) talks about how she can’t wait to get the ‘thing’ out of her body and reaffirms with (Jessica Burgess) that they will burn the evidence afterwards,” according to court records from the police investigation.
Other messages allegedly between the mother and daughter show a callous disregard for the unborn baby’s life even though the child already was basically fully formed and capable of surviving outside the womb. According to police, Celeste Burgess told her mother that she “can’t wait to get the ‘thing’ out of her body” and she was looking forward to wearing jeans again.
Though not surprising, the defense of and outpouring of support for the jailed teen from pro-abortion activists was deeply disturbing:
A young woman in Nebraska has been sentenced to jail for getting abortion care.
Her mother is also facing charges for helping her.https://t.co/ZWLf8BC2aj
— NARAL (@NARAL) July 21, 2023
HORRIFYING UPDATE. The Nebraska teenager who self-managed her abortion has been sentenced TO NINETY DAYS IN JAIL! Once again, conservatives are punishing children trying to get care.
Her mother is facing five years for her helping her child. #AbortionAFhttps://t.co/MfVFIpoFll pic.twitter.com/nXX2xb4waZ— Abortion Access Front (@AbortionFront) July 21, 2023
Self-managed abortion is not a crime in Nebraska, and neither is losing a pregnancy for any reason.
These people should not have been charged in the first place.
The confusion and chaos created by abortion bans is only just beginning. https://t.co/ZI9MOB9ubd— Kelly Baden (@KellyBaden) July 21, 2023
Self-managed abortion is illegal in 2 states — and Nebraska is NOT one. But every state without explicit protections is a looming threat that criminalizes some & scares many into undesired births.
We need federal decriminalization of self-managed abortion & pregnancy loss NOW. https://t.co/nmIe4iEZtl
— Hayley McMahon, MSPH, CPH (@McMisoprostol) July 21, 2023
🚨 Nebraska resident Celeste Burgess, 19, was just sentenced to 90 days in jail for having an abortion. 🚨
We are calling for her immediate release.
Sign here: https://t.co/RqkSx5Z1R4
— MoveOn (@MoveOn) July 21, 2023
Ghouls. All of them.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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Comments
The media never fails to amplify the false narrative of the left. How many does that make just this month? From the “benefits of slavery” in Florida to banning water breaks in Texas, all the left does is lie.
“Nebraska teen is not going to jail for having an abortion”
Nor are any number of Chicago teens going to jail for shooting other teens over the weekend.
Dishonest people and ideologues often misrepresent the facts. If that isn’t possible b/c the facts are strait forward or uncontested they ignore or minimize some of the facts to alter the narrative. When that won’t work they try to impugn the motives of those involved or seek to project their own bias. The dishonest have many methods they use to twist the facts or dissenting but honest opinions about the facts into a perversion of the truth. Habitual liars are very well practiced at deceit.
Prefect example of the Propaganda machine giving you a story, not the story.
A viable baby got 29 weeks to live. The minimum the girl should have gotten is 29 weeks, to think about it – the mother, the full 5 years.
Marines coming ashore at Iwo Jima had a better chance of survival than babies coming out of their mother’s womb.
Too bad she wasn’t sentenced for murder.