velma comments on North Carolina Woman Charged With Assault With a Deadly Weapon for Taking Abortion Pills

North Carolina Woman Charged With Assault With a Deadly Weapon for Taking Abortion Pills (meidasnews.com)

submitted 3 months ago by velma@sh.itjust.works to c/usa@lemmy.ml

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18-year-old Syeisha Johnson was charged with assault inflicting serious bodily injury on an unborn child, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, and negligent child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury after allegedly taking the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol to end a pregnancy at 31 weeks in July. Her boyfriend was also arrested and charged with negligent child abuse.

Johnson found out she was pregnant at 20 weeks in June, and then ordered the abortion pills online to be shipped from Virginia. According to the police report: “On July 29, 2026 Ms. Johnson began having abdominal pain and sat down during the day to help with the pain. She sat on the toilet and gave birth to a child.”

Johnson turned 18 in June, meaning she was past the North Carolina requirement for minors to get parental permission for an abortion, however the state bans most abortions after 12 weeks.

Her story comes the same week a recording was released of a call between acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and faith leaders, where Blanche promised that the Trump administration would work to ban mail-order abortion pills nationwide.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 50 points 3 months ago* (59 children)

She was 17 years old, found out she was pregnant at 20 weeks, and had to wait until she was legally an adult to do anything. Add in a lack of sex education and what the pills do specifically and you have a tragic case like this.

If abortion had been a legally viable option for her, this wouldn't have happened.

It's disgusting to post photos like this by the way. It's not her fault she didn't have options - it's the government's overreach into women's healthcare that is at fault here.

Pregnancy and birth are threats to a woman's life as a reminder.

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[–] Gloomy@mander.xyz -5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (9 children)

I agree to most of what you said. But.

If you arrive at 31 weeks, regardless of how unfair and fucked up the circumstances where thad lead to this point, you shoudn't abort in my opinion.

Hell, i know it sucks. I am so fucking sry for the poor girl that has been brought into a situation like this by bigoted assholes that denied her a right to abortion and sex edd to prevent it in the first place.

But she had an option left. She had the option to go trough with it and give the baby away. And i know that sucks. But at that point, i personally think it would have been the more humane option.

It's disgusting to post photos like this by the way. It's not her fault she didn't have options - it's the government's overreach into women's healthcare that is at fault here.

I posted them to show why i think this way, not to shame the poor girl. I don't blame her, it is, as you pointed out, not her fault.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (5 children)

Going through with birth is more risky to the mother’s life than you want to acknowledge here.

She was a teenager.

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[+] Gloomy@mander.xyz -7 points 3 months ago* (4 children)

That is a good point. I am looking at this from a european perspective and had means no costs and much lower maternal mortality rates. I aknowledge that the situation is complicated by this. It's just a fucked up situation either way.

Not as a "got ya" but just fyi, being a teenager of her age is not a risk factor in this case, but lessens the risk.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maternal_mortality_in_the_United_States

Edit: It still is risking a live vs. taking a live tough.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 7 points 3 months ago*

It has been shown that mothers between ages 18 and 44 who did not complete high school had a 5% increase in maternal mortality versus women who completed high school.[32] By completing primary school, 10% of girls younger than 17 years old would not get pregnant and 2/3 of maternal deaths could be prevented.[33] Secondary education, university schooling, would only further decrease rates of pregnancy and maternal death.

Of note, higher education still does not improve the racial differences in maternal mortality and is not protective for Black mothers in the way they are for White mothers. It has been found that Black mothers with a college education have greater maternal mortality than White mothers with less than a high school education.[34]

Young adolescents are at the highest risk of fatal complications of any age group.[35] This high risk can be accounted for by various causes such as the likelihood of adolescents giving birth for the first time compared to women in older age groups.[36] Other factors that also may lead to higher risk among this age group includes lower economic status and education.[37] While adolescents face a higher risk of maternal mortality, a study conducted between 2005 and 2014 found that the rate of maternal mortality was higher among older women.[38] Additionally, another study found that the rate is higher specifically among women aged 30 years or older.[36]

There are significant racial disparities in maternal deaths within the United States.[42][43][5][4][44]

In 2023, Asian women had the lowest maternal death rate in the United States, with a death rate of 11 per 100,000. Hispanic women had the second lowest maternal death rate, at 12 per 100,000. White women had a death rate of 14.5 per 100,000. Black women's maternal death rate was slightly greater than 50 per 100,000.[5]

From the same link you pulled that chart.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 13 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Women shouldn't be forced to put their own lives at risk to carry a fetus to term.

The criminal actions here are the government's refusal to allow appropriate healthcare access to women.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 6 points 3 months ago*

It wasn’t this teenager’s first option to abort at 31 weeks either.

Edit: You’re talking past a really big point here. If abortion had been accessible, this teenager wouldn’t have made the choice to abort at 31 weeks. She would have done so right when she found out she was pregnant at 20 weeks. Hell, maybe with better sex education, she would have better prevented this unwanted pregnancy to begin with and no one would have been in this position.

But that didn’t happen. And the choice was try to abort or face death and an unwanted child with birth.

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[–] PRIMEcavitationfetishist 1 point 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

So, I've never been pregnant, but you obviously haven't either. You do not understand or care about the risks and costs associated. You're just here to punish AFAB people for being too old for you to fuck.

If you actually cared about the lives of children, you'd be on /fuckcars. You'd be fighting against environmental contaminants that disproportionally kill children. You'd be punishing paid trained equipped cops for not stopping school shooters, you would've fucking suicide bombed the fucking uvalde police department for not letting concerned parents try to eave their kids.

You don't give a shit about the lives of children. That's the common thread between all of those things, you see; children die in preventable ways, people nobody can argue are children, because they're running around putting crap in their mouths and asking stupid questions and learning to read. No you hate women (and nb's and trans people when you think of then) and want them to suffer for committing a sin.

I have kind of a headache and I woke up really early, but just for you I'm going to have sex with at least three people tonight. I know at least one of them has a dick and at least one of them has a pussy and its going to be all your fault. The two I know are kind of annoying so I'm going to need to keep them from talking one way or another.

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[–] PRIMEcavitationfetishist 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I just don't like Nazi pedophiles who think I'm an object. They kind of get on my nerves, you know? I guess I'm just the kind of shit head who wants the world to be better instead of worse.

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[+] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -9 points 3 months ago (48 children)

At 20 weeks you're outside the range of an abortion pill. At 31 weeks you are way beyond that. She put her own life in danger doing this. I understand there are complications due to stupid state laws and age requirements and all the rest but this was a bad decision. A criminally bad decision.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 18 points 3 months ago (47 children)

Her life was in danger carrying the pregnancy to term as well.

This is entirely due to access to abortion being cut off by the state.

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[+] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -6 points 3 months ago (46 children)

Yes. I totally agree. And the method she opted to fix it was outside the scope for the situation as it was more than twice as long in the pregnancy as the method is safe to use. This was a completely stupid and potentially fatal way to handle the situation.

We both understand why this happened. We both hate that the nann state made it possible or even inevitable. But we can't be blind to the incredibly stupid risk she took by using a method that had a real risk of killing her. One wrong and one stupid don't make a right.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 16 points 3 months ago* (32 children)

And the method she opted to fix it was outside the scope for the situation as it was more than twice as long in the pregnancy as the method is safe to use.

Without robust sex education, it's very likely that this girl didn't know how mifepristone works, only that it is an abortion pill. Teenagers don't tend to make great decisions under pressure. She couldn't legally get the pills at all until she turned 18 years old.

She would have been able to have a safe abortion if it had been legally available.

This is entirely on the state in my opinion. Completely and entirely the government's fault here.

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -3 points 3 months ago (31 children)

It sounds like you and I agree on the problem but you are intentionally failing to acknowledge my point about her "solution" being wrong. Which makes this a bad faith conversation not worth continuing.

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[–] 5318008@lemmy.ml 11 points 3 months ago (19 children)

What would a correct solution have looked like, in your opinion?

My opinion is: this should have been a decision involving a doctor, but the state made that impossible. Whether she made a bad decision or not, the state failed first, and I, personally, hold the failure of the state to a higher level of scrutiny than the failure of a pregnant teenager.

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[+] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -6 points 3 months ago (18 children)

We all agree what got here there. No need to repeat that.

The correct solution would have been pretty much anything that didn't involve taking a drug that wasn't unsafe for how far along she was. No medical professional would have advised using that method at 31 weeks because they would have lost their license.

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[–] 5318008@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 months ago (4 children)

We all agree what got here there. No need to repeat that.

I disagree. I think it's worth repeating that the STATE failed. I think it's worth repeating that I hold the STATE to a higher degree of scrutiny than I hold a desperate teenager. The reason I think this should be repeated is that some people only understand policy in terms of rational people making rational decisions, when that describes absolutely no one who has ever lived.

The policy is bad, in part, because it will cause people to make mistakes.

The correct solution would have been pretty much anything that...

I don't need every solution to be listed. I just want one specific solution that you think is the/a correct solution.

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -3 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Yes. The state failed. In the rush for control of women's bodies they decided that human sacrifice with the goal of keeping women down was the right choice. Hopefully the backfire will come swiftly and this will all be reversed state by state and at the federal level with an actual amendment protecting women from this ever again.

That doesn't change that what she did could have killed her. As I said elsewhere here I'm not qualified nor in her shoes to know what she should or could have done. But there is a very real chance she could have killed herself doing this. It's okay to say you don't know the answer but one is obviously not the right one. Not everything can be known. And while I wouldn't presume to tell her what she should or could have done I would be very sure to have told her that she was risking her life by doing this. But if I were that involved I would have taken donations for gas money and gotten them out of state to someplace that could help.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 5 points 3 months ago

Some women would rather die than give birth to be perfectly honest.

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[–] 5318008@lemmy.ml 4 points 3 months ago (1 child)

It’s okay to say you don’t know the answer but one is obviously not the right one. Not everything can be known.

To be clear, I'm not asking you to provide a "correct" solution because I don't know. YOU said someone was "intentionally failing to acknowledge [your] point about her “solution” being wrong."

You don't actually have a solution, and for you to pile blame onto someone who is already subjugated by a cruel government is just doubling the cruelty.

But if I were that involved...

That's easy to say when we're talking about one specific person in one specific high profile case. How many times do you think this kind of thing has happened since 2022?

How about this... instead of patting yourself on the back for "would've done the right thing," when you already did nothing... you just... keep doing and saying nothing? Because you want these restrictive laws to be changed, right? You want this problem to have never been an option because she was able to just go to a doctor first, right?

Saying and doing nothing is more helpful for making that change, than you entering this conversation by blaming the victim of bad policy.

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -4 points 3 months ago

I didn't say I knew the right thing. I said they put their own life in danger by using a medication that wasn't meant to handle a 31 week pregnancy.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 4 points 3 months ago (12 children)

So the correct solution was putting her own life in danger to save the fetus?

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 4 points 3 months ago* (10 children)

The correct solution would have been pretty much anything that didn’t involve taking a drug that wasn’t unsafe for how far along she was.

What is that solution then?

We both know what it is you're implying.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 5 points 3 months ago (8 children)

Say it with your chest instead of trying to dodge it.

You would have preferred she give birth, right?

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 6 points 3 months ago (6 children)

You keep blaming the child for the decision making here though.

She had very limited options. She chose the best she could with the options she had. It's not her fault.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 5 points 3 months ago (4 children)

At 20 weeks you’re outside the range of an abortion pill. At 31 weeks you are way beyond that. She put her own life in danger doing this. I understand there are complications due to stupid state laws and age requirements and all the rest but this was a bad decision. A criminally bad decision.

No, you blamed the teenager from your very first comment.

She couldn't access an abortion. What other choice did she have?

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 4 points 3 months ago (2 children)

What were her other options?

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 7 points 3 months ago

She didn't know she was pregnant until she was 20 weeks.

There were no other options besides giving birth.

It took you this long to admit you don't know after repeatedly telling others they were misunderstanding you?

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (10 children)

Yes, teenagers have poor decision making skills. I am not intentionally failing to acknowledge your point. I think your point doesn't matter in this case and I've spoken on that point a few times now.

She would have been able to have an abortion at a much safer time for both her and the fetus if it was accessible.

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -3 points 3 months ago (9 children)

That would have been nice. But, as you know, not legally possible.

Anyway, you are focused on what started this. We agree. It is unfortunate we couldn't move past that.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 4 points 3 months ago (8 children)

It used to be legally possible until Roe v Wade was overturned.

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -1 points 3 months ago (7 children)

See, a total failure to communicate. We agree on the problem, the state is passing laws to kill women because they are incapable of anything else. It is so boring when people get stuck on a loop and can't deviate from their programming to have an actual conversation and treat someone trying to have a different conversation as though they disagree with them. The narcissism of small difference is on full display here. Two people that agree can't talk because one of them has failed to understand that they agree.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 3 points 3 months ago (6 children)

You still want to blame this teenager who had no other options.

You can't handle being in the wrong in this comment section and are handling it poorly.

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -2 points 3 months ago (5 children)

I want the teen to live. And taking an abortion pill more than double into the term is not congruent with that.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 3 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Giving birth would have also been a great risk to her life.

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -2 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Absolutely. I never once said, hinted at, suggested that birth was an option. Reread my first comments. Abortion was always on the table for me.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 3 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Abortion was never on the table for her. She couldn't access an abortion.

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -2 points 3 months ago (1 child)

You really think I want birth. You are harmful to the abortion cause. You make enemies of those who agree with you but have minor disagreements. Find some resources on the narcissism of small differences. Study it. Realize how it harms good causes. Realize that you are doing it here.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 3 points 3 months ago*

You have a very fundamental misunderstanding of how pregnancy works.

Instead of listening to others here that are more knowledgeable, you doubled down and starting accusing others of not reading your comments.

She discovered she was pregnant at 20 weeks. There were no other options besides giving birth and she is a child. The state backed her into a corner.

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[–] PRIMEcavitationfetishist 7 points 3 months ago* (12 children)

When the stupid was inflicted on purpose by the people doing the wrong to back the wrong, it pretty thoroughly absolves the victim. Unless you just like punishing girls.

Because I need to remind you, this was not a woman. This was a girl. She was a fucking child. Not that it really makes a difference to anyone not looking for a victim to string up.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 4 points 3 months ago (4 children)

What part of giving birth could have killed the teen that you aren't getting?

She had no better options because the government refuses to allow women to access appropriate healthcare.

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -2 points 3 months ago (3 children)

I'm not getting it because I never said she should give birth. Not once. I stated I'm in favor of abortion. I disagree with the way she almost killed herself trying to solve this. Learn to read.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 3 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Are you fundamentally misunderstanding that she could not access an abortion?

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -3 points 3 months ago (1 child)

We are done here. You can't separate perfect from the enemy of good. You constantly lie about my position. You refuse to acknowledge that taking the pill 16 weeks past the pills recommend usage period put her life at risk. We have common ground. But you are incapable of seeing it.

You get one reply and then I block you because of your toxicity. I have driven women I know and didn't to get abortions. I have distracted protestors to give women peace. I have donated to PP. But you are convinced that I want birth and are so stuck up your own that you think we disagree. This has been a sad conversation of a motivated person putting on a performance without reading the audience.

I won't actually read your reply because it will be in bad faith. I will just use it to indicate you read this before I block you.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 0 points 3 months ago

Even allies have blind spots.

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[–] PRIMEcavitationfetishist 5 points 3 months ago (5 children)

So you're saying the people who deliberately kept her uneducated attempted murder?

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[–] PRIMEcavitationfetishist 4 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Kids do shit that can kill them all the time (love how you compromised on 'teen' after I pointed out she wasn't an adult) its not their job to just know, its our job to teach them and give them better options.

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world -3 points 3 months ago (1 child)

I didn't compromise. We agree. You are just so bent on lying about my position that you can't see otherwise b

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 3 points 3 months ago

You keep going on about how she should have had an abortion, but that wasn't an option for this teenager.

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[–] velma@sh.itjust.works [S] 3 points 3 months ago

At 20 weeks you’re outside the range of an abortion pill. At 31 weeks you are way beyond that. She put her own life in danger doing this. I understand there are complications due to stupid state laws and age requirements and all the rest but this was a bad decision. A criminally bad decision.

You are blaming the pregnant teenager. You have been this entire time.

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