Nebraska Teen in Jail after Having Late-Term Abortion, Illegally Disposing of the Body
A Nebraska teenager is behind bars after undergoing an illegal late-term abortion and subsequently pleading guilty to the concealment and improper disposal of a dead body.
At 17 years old, Celeste Burgess was nearly 30 weeks pregnant when she took mifepristone and misoprostol to induce an abortion. The two drugs are commonly used in a chemical abortion for pregnancies up to 12 weeks gestation because they are not highly effective after that and can cause harm to the mother and baby.
On Thursday, the now 19-year-old was sentenced to 90 days in jail and two years probation at Madison District Court after pleading guilty to the improper disposal of human remains. At the time, Nebraska had lenient abortion laws on the books, allowing the procedure to take place up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Despite this, 42-year-old mother, Jessica Burgess ordered the drugs online for her underage daughter and later pleaded guilty to two felonies and a misdemeanor for providing an illegal abortion, false reporting, and improper disposal of human skeletal remains.
The judge’s order read, “The court specifically finds that while probation is appropriate, confinement is necessary because, without this confinement, it would depreciate the seriousness of the crime or promote disrespect for the law.”
Facebook messages between Jessica Burgess and her daughter obtained by law enforcement reportedly discussed terminating Celeste’s pregnancy. In one message, Celeste described feeling anxious that “evidence” of her illegal abortion would be uncovered by law enforcement.
The teen told police that her mother and another unnamed person assisted her in burning and burying her infant’s body in an attempted cover-up of her illegal actions.
Post-Roe, Nebraska’s Governor signed a 12-week abortion ban into law; however, because the Burgess’ case was filed in court before the new law went into effect, they were charged based on the more lenient 2010 law, banning abortions after 20 weeks.
Very few people in America support abortion after three months gestation according to the latest polling, which found that 66 percent oppose abortions later than the first trimester. Even more, Americans are opposed to second and third-trimester abortions. Very few abortion advocates will adopt a radical policy of supporting abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, when a child is fully formed, can feel pain, and is viable outside the womb.
Despite this, several progressive outlets have framed Celeste’s arrest as a result of her illegal abortion, leaving the impression that Nebraska’s 2010 abortion law penalizes the would-be mother, when in fact it penalizes the abortion provider. “Celeste Burgess: Nebraska Teen Sent to Jail Over Illegal Abortion,” Rolling Stone’s headline reads. “Nebraska Teen Who Used Pills to End Pregnancy Gets 90 Days in Jail” the New York Times reports.
While Jessica Burgess was charged with providing an illegal abortion past 20 weeks gestation, Celeste was charged with the improper disposal of the body, not for the abortion itself.
