Nebraska Teen Sentenced to Jail After Taking Abortion Pills to Terminate Pregnancy at 23 Weeks
Celeste Burgess was 17 when she took abortion pills her mother had ordered for her online
A Nebraska teen who took abortion pills her mother secured for her online to terminate her pregnancy has been sentenced to jail.
Celeste Burgess, 19, pled guilty to the charges of "concealing or abandoning a dead body" after she took medication to induce a miscarriage at 23 weeks gestation, and then buried the fetal remains with her mother.
“I was honestly scared at the time,” the teen said, according to the Norfolk Daily News, which reported that Burgess, who was 17 at the time of her pregnancy, also said the father of her child was allegedly abusive.
“I didn't know what to do. I freaked out. I didn't know what way to turn at all after everything had happened. And I wanted to do the right thing,” Burgess said in court. “But then I didn't know if what I was doing at the time was the right thing. I do regret my decisions very much.”
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After inducing her miscarriage, Burgess and her mother, Jessica Burgess, 42, buried, exhumed, and reburied the fetal remains twice, attempting to burn them after the second exhumation, according to a report in Today. They buried the remains a third time with the help of a friend, who later pled no contest to charges of attempting to conceal a death.
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, many states — including Nebraska — have either banned or placed strict limitations on abortion access. Abortion is now illegal in Nebraska after 12 weeks of pregnancy, although at the time Burgess was pregnant, abortion access was legal up to 20 weeks gestation.
According to an earlier report, a friend of the teenager's had reached out to the County Attorney's Office and told authorities she was there when Burgess took the first pill.
And Today reports Burgess discussed her miscarriage with a coworker, adding that she needed to “dig the body up and burn the baby’s body,"
Facebook messages between the mother and daughter — obtained by Norfolk Police Detective Ben McBride through a search warrant — showed discussions about purchasing the abortion medication online, and instructions on when to take the two separate pills.
The Burgesses voluntarily showed McBride where they buried the remains, according to Today.
The teen has been sentenced to 90 days in jail with 24 months of probation, and court records show she is currently an inmate at Madison County Jail.
With good behavior, she may be released after 53 days.
“I would really want a chance to actually prove to everyone that I could be a good person,” she said, according to the Norfolk Daily News.
In court, District Judge James Kube told Burgess, “You confirmed that you just didn't want this baby, you didn't want this pregnancy based on the person that got you pregnant,” the Norfolk Daily News reports. “And maybe that's why it's especially concerning to a lot of people. It wasn't just a wrong decision, it was a wrong decision that involves human life, or at least the life that was living inside of you.”
Related: Celebrities Who Have Shared Their Abortion Stories to Help Women Feel Less Alone
Jessica Burgess has pleaded guilty to providing an abortion after 20 weeks, false reporting, and tampering with human skeletal remains.
She faces up to five years in prison, and is due to be sentenced in September.
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