A Texas man faces criminal charges for allegedly trying to end his wife’s pregnancy without her knowledge by slipping medication used to induce an abortion into her drinks.
Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted the man, a 38-year-old attorney from Houston named Mason Herring, on two felony counts, including assaulting a pregnant person. The second charge Herring faces is “assault – forced induced to have an abortion”, according to court records.
Texas has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, allowing abortions only when a pregnant person’s life is at serious risk, with no exceptions for rape or incest. The law not only makes it a felony to perform an abortion procedure – it also gives civilians the ability to sue any person who helps a person get an abortion.
Herring’s wife alleges that he began lecturing her in March on the importance of hydration during pregnancy and offered her glasses of water. After drinking from one of the glasses, she noticed the water was cloudy. Herring told her the cloudiness could be from dirty pipes.
She started cramping half an hour later and eventually experienced severe bleeding, leading to an emergency room visit. After experiencing these symptoms, she started to believe that her drink had been tampered with an abortion-inducing medication.
An affidavit written by the Houston police department, described by the Washington Post, said that the Herrings had been married for 11 years, and over time, their relationship became strained. Herring in February expressed wishes to separate from his wife and moved out of their home, though he agreed to couples’ therapy. The couple have two children, ages two and six.
Herring’s wife learned that she was pregnant and told her husband during a couples’ counseling session on 8 March. She told officials that her husband’s reaction to the news was negative.
After Herring’s wife returned home from the emergency room, he allegedly gave her four more drinks over the next week. She noticed three had “an unknown substance” in them, and the fourth was a bottle of orange juice with the seal broken.
Herring was scheduled to visit his wife on 20 April. His wife invited two people over to potentially witness any of his suspicious behavior. During that scheduled visit, Herring tried to give her drink, which his wife and the two people noticed had “an unknown substance” inside.
The next week, Herring’s wife saw him slip the contents of a small plastic bag into a drink that he later gave to her. She also inspected trash that he had taken out and saw open packs of Cyrux, which contains misoprostol, an ingredient known to induce abortions. She showed law enforcement videos of both instances, according to the affidavit.
An assistant district attorney prosecuting the case, Anthony Osso, told local news station KTRK that Herring’s alleged actions were “manipulative”.
“It’s premeditated,” Osso said. “What we are alleging Mr Herring did, which we believe the evidence supports, is a pretty heinous act. To do that to someone who trusts you, it’s taking advantage of that trust.”
Herring is scheduled to appear in court again on 2 December. He is out on $30,000 bond. His lawyers did not immediately respond to comment though said in a statement: “We are aware that the grand jury has returned these charges. That said, we very much look forward to our day in court and are thoroughly convinced that we will prevail in a court of law when our time comes to defend these allegations.”
