LAWRENCE - An 18-year-old woman could face manslaughter charges after she tried to abort her second-trimester pregnancy by taking a prescription drug commonly used to prevent ulcers but also contained in the abortion pill RU-486, police said.
Instead of aborting the baby, police said Amber Abreu, a resident of High Street, delivered a 11/4-pound girl Jan. 6 in her 23rd to 25th week of pregnancy. But baby Ashley Abreu died four days later at a Boston hospital.
Amber Abreu was arrested yesterday and charged with "procuring miscarriage," a felony outlawing the use of any drug with the intent to miscarry and punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $2,000 fine.
Because the baby lived, police Chief John J. Romero said the mother could face charges as serious as manslaughter. He said they are awaiting the results of an autopsy before pursuing other charges.
"The difference here is that the child was born and lived," Romero said.
Police said Amber Abreu admitted to investigators she took three misoprostol tablets over two days. Known by its brand name, Cytotec, the drug is used to prevent ulcers in people who take certain arthritis or pain medicines, including aspirin.
It is also combined with the drug mifepristone in RU-486 and is used legally to end pregnancies until the eighth week. It is illegal in the United States to use misoprostol on its own to cause an abortion. Abortions in Massachusetts are legal until the 24th week of pregnancy.
Amber Abreu told investigators she got the pills from a friend visiting from the Dominican Republic after confiding she thought she was pregnant and had felt something moving in her belly, police said. She told investigators she took three pills over two days on her own, and the pills did not come with any warnings or instructions.
Amber Abreu went to Lawrence General Hospital Jan. 6 for abdominal pain and delivered Ashley at 6 p.m. Ashley was sent to Tufts New England Medical Center for advanced care. Amber left the hospital at 9 p.m. against doctor's orders.
Police were made aware of the situation by a social worker at the Boston hospital, who became concerned when Amber Abreu gave conflicting statements as to how much of the drug she ingested and because she checked herself out of the hospital. Misoprostol was found in the baby's urine, according to reports.
Instead of aborting the baby, police said Amber Abreu, a resident of High Street, delivered a 11/4-pound girl Jan. 6 in her 23rd to 25th week of pregnancy. But baby Ashley Abreu died four days later at a Boston hospital.
Amber Abreu was arrested yesterday and charged with "procuring miscarriage," a felony outlawing the use of any drug with the intent to miscarry and punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $2,000 fine.
Because the baby lived, police Chief John J. Romero said the mother could face charges as serious as manslaughter. He said they are awaiting the results of an autopsy before pursuing other charges.
"The difference here is that the child was born and lived," Romero said.
Police said Amber Abreu admitted to investigators she took three misoprostol tablets over two days. Known by its brand name, Cytotec, the drug is used to prevent ulcers in people who take certain arthritis or pain medicines, including aspirin.
It is also combined with the drug mifepristone in RU-486 and is used legally to end pregnancies until the eighth week. It is illegal in the United States to use misoprostol on its own to cause an abortion. Abortions in Massachusetts are legal until the 24th week of pregnancy.
Amber Abreu told investigators she got the pills from a friend visiting from the Dominican Republic after confiding she thought she was pregnant and had felt something moving in her belly, police said. She told investigators she took three pills over two days on her own, and the pills did not come with any warnings or instructions.
Amber Abreu went to Lawrence General Hospital Jan. 6 for abdominal pain and delivered Ashley at 6 p.m. Ashley was sent to Tufts New England Medical Center for advanced care. Amber left the hospital at 9 p.m. against doctor's orders.
Police were made aware of the situation by a social worker at the Boston hospital, who became concerned when Amber Abreu gave conflicting statements as to how much of the drug she ingested and because she checked herself out of the hospital. Misoprostol was found in the baby's urine, according to reports.
During the baby's hospital stay, Amber Abreu visited Ashley once and spent the night at the hospital's neo-natal intensive care unit. According to investigators, the baby was on a ventilator and was not taking food on its own.
Lawrence police Detective Lt. Mary Bartlett said about 50 percent of infants born prematurely with a birth weight of 565 grams - about 11/4 pounds - survive.
Abreu was arrested at her home yesterday and held overnight pending arraignment this morning in Lawrence District Court.
BOX: About misoprostol
- Brand name is Cytotec.
- Used in combination with mifepristone in the abortion pill RU-486.
- Approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration to prevent ulcers in people who take certain arthritis or pain medicines, including aspirin. Protects the stomach lining and decreases stomach acid secretion.
- If prescribed, it can be taken only by women who have had a negative pregnancy test in the previous two weeks and use a reliable method of birth control. Women must begin taking the pill on the second or third day of a menstrual period to ensure the woman is not pregnant.
- Can cause abortion, premature labor and birth defects.
Source: Food and Drug Administration
BOX: Abortion laws in Massachusetts
- Will only be performed after the 24th week if mother's life is in danger
What is a charge of "procuring miscarriage"
Massachusetts General Law prohibits the use of any poison, drug, medicine or other noxious thing to be used to procure the miscarriage of a woman. Can be used against the mother or anyone who administers, advises or prescribes her any such method to procure a miscarriage.
