Woman Faces Charges for Helping her Daughter with an Illegal Abortion

A Nebraska woman has been charged with helping her teenage daughter have an abortion. The charges come after investigators obtained Facebook messages in which the mother and daughter discussed using medication to end the approximately 24-week pregnancy. Nebraska law prohibits abortion after 20 weeks. Prosecutors charged 41-year-old Jessica Burgess with helping her then 17-year-old daughter end her pregnancy and then burning and burying the fetus. Madison County Attorney Joseph Smith says he’s never had a case involving an illegal abortion in his 32 years as the prosecutor.