Her husband wanted a separation, so he poisoned his pregnant wife with abortion drugs

One week after her husband asked for separation, Catherine Pressly Herring learned she was pregnant. It was during a session with their marriage counselor that she told him the news, which was reportedly not well received.

The counselor suggested that the family take a spring break vacation together, but on the day that they returned, Catherine's husband began poisoning her with abortion drugs.

Key Takeaways:

Catherine Herring learned she was pregnant with her third child one week after her husband asked for a separation.
He began poisoning her with abortion drugs. Thankfully, her daughter survived.
Easy access to the abortion pill through the internet and mail order has led to an increase in forced/coerced abortion.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently paused mail-order abortions as a Louisiana lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proceeds. The Supreme Court quickly issued a temporary stay, blocking that decision. That stay expires on May 11 at 5 p.m. (EDT), pending further action from the Supreme Court.

The Details:

According to Alliance Defending Freedom, it was March 2022 when Catherine's husband brought her breakfast in bed and a drink of water. He pushed for her to drink the water quickly, telling her she hadn't been drinking enough, and that's when she noticed that the water she had been drinking was not just water. It was "milky."

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Catherine began violently cramping and experienced severe bleeding. She called a pregnancy hotline, telling them that she didn't know what she had ingested but described how sick she was feeling and said that she had heard about 'abortion pill reversal.' They told her she should take progesterone (to counteract the effects of mifepristone). Catherine happened to have a progesterone prescription on hand from her previous pregnancy. She then went to the emergency room for eight hours.

Thumbnail for Her Husband Poisoned Her with Abortion Pills

"Sadly, the poisoning attempts were just beginning," she said. "So over the next 39 days, he attempted six more times in various drinks. He did it in front of two eye witnesses on drink number five and on drink number seven, a private investigator and I had cameras installed in my kitchen. We caught him making the seventh drink."

Her baby, Josephine, survived. Catherine credits the progesterone with saving her daughter's life. She has noted, however, that Josephine — who was born premature — has special needs.

Mason Herring accepted a plea deal in 2024, in which he admitted to spiking his wife's drink with an abortion drug (misoprostol). He was sentenced to just six months in prison with 10 years probation on charges of injury to a chid under 15, bodily injury, and assault of a pregnant person. But after violating his probation, he was sentenced to eight years in prison in October.

Why It Matters:

Catherine and little Josephine are not alone.

Many women have been unknowingly dosed with abortion drugs as well as with the abortion pill (mifepristone) thanks to changes made to the abortion pill's REMS guidelines under the Obama administration in 2016 and the Biden administration in 2023. Online and mail-order access to the abortion pill allows abusive men to obtain the drugs and give them to women without their knowledge or consent.

The lack of regulations has allowed people with evil intentions to access the drugs and kill preborn children in forced abortions.

Recently, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals paused mail order abortions as a Louisiana lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proceeds. The Supreme Court quickly issued a temporary stay, blocking that decision at the request of abortion pill manufacturer Danco Laboratories. That stay expires on May 11 at 5 p.m. (EDT), pending further action from the Supreme Court.

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