HOUSTON – A Houston attorney is facing two felony counts after prosecutors alleged that he slipped an abortion drug into his wife’s drinks in hopes it would terminate her pregnancy.
According to KTRK, 38-year-old Mason Herring is the first person in Harris County, Texas, to be charged with forcing induction of an abortion.
Herring, the founder and managing partner of the Herring Law Firm, was originally arrested in May and released on a $30,000 bond. Earlier this week, he was also indicted for assault of a pregnant person.
According to prosecutors, the baby was born prematurely but healthy, KTRK reported.
According to court documents, Herring’s wife told authorities that her husband began lecturing her in March about hydration and offering water. She said she became severely ill after drinking from the first cup he offered, which appeared cloudy.
Herring’s wife began refusing numerous other drinks he offered her and later found packaging in the trash for a drug containing misoprostol, a medicine used to induce abortion.
According to court documents, the couple separated earlier in the year and were attending marriage counseling when she told him about the pregnancy. She said that Herring expressed his displeasure about the pregnancy to her in several text messages.
The felony forcing induction of an abortion charge carries a sentence of two to 10 years in prison, and up to a $10,000 fine, KTRK reported.
Herring is due back in court Dec. 2.
– The Associatd Press contributed to this report.
