A pregnant woman who is in prison asks to be released because the fetus in her tummy has been “illegally imprisoned”
Natalia Harrell, a 24-year-old girl, had six weeks pregnant when he shot and killed another woman in Miami last July. Now, seven months later, she has made an unusual claim that she should be released pending her trial because she her fetus is illegally detained.
“The unborn child has not been charged with any crime by the State. In addition, the State has placed the unborn child in such an inherently dangerous environment by putting him in close proximity to violent criminal offenders,” notes the appeal filed by Harrel’s attorney, William M. Norris, in the court papers.
Norris argued that the imprisonment of the fetus is a violation of its rights guaranteed by the US and Florida constitutions. In addition, he pointed out that he has not received vitamins or the necessary food for the proper development of the pregnancy.
According to the documents, quoted by the newspaper The Miami Heraldit was also argued that baby deserved to be free from ‘illegal detainer’ and prevent it from reaching the world in a dangerous environment like a cell.
The concept that an unborn child is protected by the Constitution began to take hold after the US Supreme Court struck down the nation’s right to abortion, known as Roe v. Wade, last summer.
What happened the night of the murder
Harrell is indicted for the death of Gladys Yvette Borcela, 28 years old. According to her file, the murder happened after the two had been in a bar with a group of men.
They then all boarded an Uber and while driving from South Beach through the city’s Brickell neighborhood, the women got into an argument and Harrell pulled out a gun and killed Borcela..
A video posted by The New York Post It showed images of the six passengers, three men and three women, plus the driver in a Cadillac Escalade. Harrell and Borcela are arguing, and then Borcela stands up.
“You don’t want this; you don’t want it to go in my bag,” Harrell allegedly told the victim. However, Harrell later pulled out a gun and shot Borcela. When the Uber driver stopped, all the passengers ran out.
Borcela died at the Jackson Ryder Trauma Center from a single gunshot wound on the torso and left arm.
Norris has argued that his client shot Borcela because she lunged at her during the argument and that she feared for the safety of her baby.
Borcela’s mother, Yvette Rivera, fiercely opposes Harrell’s plea. ‘Natalia Harrell killed my daughter,’ she wrote on Facebook. ‘And now she’s trying to get a card to get out of jail,’ she noted.
1/17
“Operation Save Abortion” reads the banner of these New York protesters. This Saturday, hundreds of people protested in cities from coast to coast in favor of protecting the procedure and at a time when a Supreme Court decision is expected to put an end to the historic ruling that in 1973 established the constitutional right to abortion, Roe v. Wade. Behind the protesters are the faces of some of the conservative magistrates of the highest court.
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2/17
The Supreme Court woke up surrounded by metal bars, as protesters were also expected to arrive at its doors in Washington DC. This week, the Senate stopped a bill proposed by the Democrats and that sought to shield the right to abortion.
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3/17
“Abortion is health care,” says the banner of the woman in the center of the photo, who prostrated herself this Saturday in front of the highest court along with dozens of people.
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4/17
“If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t get one” and “we also have heartbeats.” Those are the messages of two women who marched in front of the highest court in favor of this right on Saturday, May 14. The protests are fueled by the leak of a draft by Judge Samuel Alito in which the magistrates take a position in favor of eliminating Roe Vs. Wade. In the document, some 98 pages long, Alito writes that “Roe was terribly wrong from the start.” If that were the final decision of the Court, many states would go on to make their own decisions. Some have already advanced that they will completely end this right.
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5/17
Images of the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the biggest defenders of abortion rights and whose face has taken the banners of many demonstrations on this issue, were also seen at the Brooklyn protest.
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6/17
“Our abortions”, reads the green banner of these protesters who walked across the Brooklyn Bridge this Saturday, May 14. Health activists and providers have ensured that a possible elimination of the right to abortion will not stop women who need this procedure, but will close the door so that they can perform it safely. In addition, they reiterate that a decision like that will affect the poorest women, who in many cases will not have the resources to stop their pregnancies.
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7/17
“Abortion access saves lives,” claims a Brooklyn protester pictured.
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8/17
Dozens of people also gathered on the National Mall in Washington DC.
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9/17
“My choice”, reads the banner of these protesters in Washington DC.
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10/17
In front of the Texas Capitol, in Austin, there were also demonstrations. A woman raises her hand holding a clothes hanger, one of the symbols used by activists to refer to the looming setback in women’s reproductive rights if abortion is removed as a constitutional right. Texas is one of the states that is leading the way for anti-abortion Republicans in the country. It has one of the most restrictive laws in the United States, which prohibits the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, a time when few women find out they are pregnant.
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11/17
“I am a woman, not a uterus,” claims this woman with her banner in Austin.
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12/17
On that sign the clothes hanger is shown again with a mention of the Republicans. More than 20 red states are waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision to advance new laws that limit abortion. Some of them are even considering eliminating the abortion pill, which has become the most used method by women in the United States in recent years to end a pregnancy.
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13/17
In Austin, both sides of the protest were seen on this issue. Pro-abortion activists held up signs with messages like “the lives of the unborn matter.” The city police had to appear on the scene to avoid confrontations.
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14/17
In Chicago there were also protests. Jacqueline Von Edelbe was one of those who took to the streets with a sign that reads “Protect Roe vs. Wade”, the historic ruling that established the right to abortion in the country.
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15/17
This Chicago protester holds up a banner with a version of the United States flag showing women’s blood drawing the red stripes and clothespins marking the stars.
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16/17
A worker at the Family Planning Clinic Association in Chicago moved as protesters walk past the center’s gate.
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17/17
All the Republicans in the Senate and the Democrat for West Virginia Joe Manchin voted against the project that sought to shield the right to abortion in the country. It took 11 votes in favor of the 60 that were necessary. Senator Manchin asserted that his decision was made because the legislation was not a codification of Roe v. Wade, but an expansion. Read more here about the Senate blocking the bill to protect the right to abortion in the United States.