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Catherine Shuttleworth
Feb 10, 2024
Man sentenced to 180 days in jail for drugging wife to induce abortion
A 39-year-old man in Texas has been sentenced to less than six months in prison after spiking his wife's drinks for a week with abortion-inducing drugs.
Mason Herring told his wife Catherine Herring that her pregnancy "would ruin his plans and make him look like a jerk." The couple had been separated for roughly two weeks at the time, and were in couples counselling when Catherine told Mason she was pregnant with their third child.
Harris County District Court Judge Andrea Ball ordered Mason Herring to serve a sentence of 180 days in jail and an additional 10 years of probation, according to Law&Crime.
Mason Herring had previously pleaded guilty to one count of assault of a pregnant person and one count of injury to a child under age 15. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dismissed one count of assault — forcing an individual to have an abortion.
Catherine said after the sentencing: “I do not believe that 180 days is justice for attempting to kill your child seven separate times,” she told the court, Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported. “For two years, my husband has overly denied this assault, and I’m grateful today that he has finally admitted to his guilt.”
Mason Herring was on a video from Catherine Herring’s kitchen preparing a drink then “taking a Ziplock bag out of his pocket and emptying the contents into the drink” before giving it to his wife, documents said.
Her husband's actions resulted in her giving birth to their daughter 10 weeks premature, she told the court. The newborn spent months eating through a feeding tube. She added that Mason had financially cut off her and the three children they share since the incident.
Mason Herring was ordered to report to the Harris County Jail on March 1 to begin serving his sentence.
Many took to social media to share that if Catherine had voluntarily decided to have an abortion, she would have likely faced a far greater prison sentence than Mason.
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