Viral claim misstates sentencing in Nebraska teen abortion case | Fact check

Gabrielle Settles, USA TODAY
Updated ·3 min read
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The claim: Nebraska teen charged with a felony after using abortion pills faces five years in prison

A July 21 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a screenshot of a tweet by liberal commentator Brian Tyler Cohen that features an image of a visibly distraught woman being led away by a police officer.

“A Nebraska teenager has been sentenced to jail and charged as a felon after ending her pregnancy with abortion pills," reads the tweet. "She faces up to five years in prison.”

The post, referencing a high-profile Nebraska case involving a mother accused of helping her teenage daughter have an illegal abortion, was shared more than 2,400 times in six days.

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Our rating: Partly false

Both the mother and daughter have already pleaded guilty to charges, but the daughter has already been sentenced and does not face prison time. It is the mother who faces up to five years in prison.

Daughter's case is resolved, didn't involve prison time

Jessica Burgess and her daughter, Celeste, were charged in 2022 after Celeste Burgess used abortion pills to end her 24-week pregnancy, which was four weeks beyond what Nebraska law allowed at the time. Nebraska shortened its abortion ban to 12 weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Celeste Burgess told police she suffered a miscarriage and gave birth to a stillborn fetus. However, investigators found evidence in Facebook messages between the two that Jessica Burgess bought abortion pills for her then 17-year-old daughter and told her how to take them. Court records also show the two talked about burning and burying the fetus, which police later found buried in a field.

Celeste Burgess was charged with removing, concealing or abandoning a dead body, a felony. She was also charged with two misdemeanors: concealing the death of another person and false reporting to law enforcement.

But she doesn't face five years in prison, because her case has been resolved. Celeste Burgess, now 19, pleaded guilty to concealing the dead body and was sentenced July 20 to 90 days in jail and two years of probation.

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Her mother is the one facing up to five years behind bars.

Jessica Burgess faced identical charges, plus two additional felonies: performing or attempting an abortion at more than 20 weeks and performing an abortion as a nonlicensed doctor. Madison County Attorney Joseph Smith, who filed the charges, confirmed to USA TODAY that two of the charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement.

Smith told USA TODAY that if Jessica Burgess receives the maximum penalty for the three remaining charges against her, that would result in up to five years in prison. A judge will decide her sentence at a hearing set for Sept. 22.

USA TODAY reached out to Cohen for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nebraska teen got 90 days in abortion case, not 5 years | Fact check