A mother and daughter from Norfolk, Nebraska, are facing criminal charges in connection with an alleged self-managed abortion that took place earlier this year. After the abortion, they tried to burn and bury the foetus. Notably, the expectant girl allegedly referred to as a “thing” she wanted “out of her body.”
Charges against the Mother and the Daughter
Jessica Burgess, the mother of 18-year-old Celeste, has been charged in Madison County with carrying out or attempting to carry out an abortion longer than 20 weeks, carrying out an abortion while not a licenced physician, removing, concealing, or abandoning a dead body, concealing the death of another person, and false reporting.
Celeste Burgess, her now-18-year-old daughter, has been charged as an adult with removing, hiding, and leaving a dead body, concealing another person’s death; and with making false reports. Both of them have denied the claims. The teen said, “The teen told police in an interview that she unexpectedly had a stillborn baby in the shower during the early hours of the morning of April 22, woke up her mother, and then drove north of town with her to bury the body.”
Tanner Barnhill, whose friendship with the two women has remained a mystery also reportedly assisted the Burgesses in burying the aborted foetus. He has been charged with attempting to conceal the death of another person.
Abortion after 20 weeks is illegal
While abortion is highly restricted in Nebraska, termination after 20 weeks postfertilization is illegal unless the pregnant person’s life is at risk. Moreover, self-managed abortion is not explicitly banned. Medication abortion is recommended only for up to ten weeks of pregnancy in the U.S.
