Man Who Put Abortion Drug in Wife's Drink Gets Jail Time

UPDATE Feb 9, 2024 1:37 PM CST

A Texas man who pleaded guilty to sneaking an abortion drug into his pregnant wife's drinks will serve 180 days behind bars and be on probation for 10 years, reports the AP. NBC News reports that Mason Herring is also barred from having any contact with either his estranged wife or their 1-year-old daughter, who Catherine Herring says has developmental delays as a result of the drugs. "I do not believe that 180 days is justice for attempting to kill your child seven separate times," she said. Mason Herring pleaded guilty to injury to a child and assault of a pregnant person.

Nov 11, 2022 7:16 AM CST

A Texas grand jury has indicted a husband accused of slipping a medicine used for abortions into his wife's drinks in hopes that it would end her pregnancy. Mason Herring, a 38-year-old Houston attorney, was indicted on two felony counts, including assault of a pregnant person, under charges handed up last week by a Harris County grand jury, per the AP. Court records show he was originally arrested in May and released on a $30,000 bond. It's "a pretty heinous act," Harris County Assistant District Attorney Anthony Osso tells KTRK, adding the baby was born prematurely but was healthy and well.

According to court documents, Herring's wife told authorities her husband in March began lecturing her on hydration and offering water. She said she became severely ill after drinking from the first cup that appeared cloudy, which her husband allegedly explained was perhaps the result of the cup or water pipes being dirty. Herring's wife became suspicious and refused to drink other beverages he offered her, says Osso. She said she later found in the trash packaging for a drug that contains misoprostol, a medicine used to induce abortion. Osso says the drug was also found in water samples the woman saved.

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The woman also installed cameras which allegedly showed her husband mixing a powdered substance into a drink he offered her, Osso tells KTRK. The couple had separated earlier this year and were attending marriage counseling when she told him about the pregnancy, according to court documents. She said Herring expressed to her in text messages multiple times that he was unhappy about the pregnancy. Herring was also indicted on an assault charge of attempting to induce an abortion. In a statement, his attorney, Dan Cogdell, says they "are thoroughly convinced that we will prevail in a court of law when our time comes to defend these allegations." (More assault stories.)