New York woman charged with self-abortion

Yesterday, I linked to a story about the body of an approximately 24-week-old unborn child being found in a Manhattan dumpster. Now authorities have charged 20-year-old Yaribely Almonte with performing an abortion on herself.

Yaribely Almonte was charged with self abortion in the first degree, a misdemeanor which carries a punishment of up to a year in jail.

It was initially unclear how police connected the fetus to Almonte, but a law enforcement official said that she admitted to police that she had purposefully induced an abortion. It was not immediately clear how Almonte is alleged to have done this.

Under the state law, it's illegal for a woman who has been pregnant for 24 week or more to commit or submit to "an abortional act upon herself which causes her miscarriage." The exception to the law is if a licensed doctor performs the abortion after determining that the mother's life would otherwise be in danger.