A Georgia judge has set a $1 bond for a woman facing murder charges after she allegedly used abortion pills to terminate a pregnancy, in a case that has reignited debate over the state's strict abortion laws.
Alexia Moore, 31, was arrested earlier this month in Savannah under a 2019 Georgia law that bans abortions after embryonic cardiac activity can be detected. Police said medical staff determined she had been pregnant beyond six weeks, and she was subsequently charged with murder.
During a bond hearing on Monday, Superior Court Judge Steven Blackerby described the charge as "extremely problematic" and expressed doubt that the state could secure a conviction for malice murder. He set bail at $1 for the murder charge, alongside $1,000 for each of two drug-related charges, allowing Moore to be released from custody after posting a total of $2,001. Moore had been held since her arrest in early March.
Moore's case is believed to be among the first in Georgia in which a woman has been charged with terminating a pregnancy since the law took effect. Her mother, Rosalyn Jones, said: "Have you ever heard of someone having a murder charge with $1 bail? From looking at the evidence, I'm not the judge or the jury. All I can see is God has given her favor, that's all I know." District Attorney Keith Higgins did not object to the bond and told the court that police had not consulted his office before filing the charges.
Court records show Moore went to a hospital in December last year with abdominal pain and told medical staff she had taken misoprostol, a drug used in medication abortions, along with oxycodone. Medical records estimated she was between 22 and 24 weeks pregnant, and investigators said the fetus survived for about an hour after delivery. Moore, a US army veteran, still requires indictment by a grand jury for the murder charge to proceed. Don Plummer, of the Georgia public defender council representing Moore, said: "The decision is a reminder that justice is not served by accusation alone. Our system works best when courts carefully weigh the facts, uphold constitutional protections, and safeguard the rights of every person who comes before them."
