Texas man charged after slipping girlfriend abortion pills to kill unborn child

A Texas man was arrested and charged last week after authorities said he slipped abortion-inducing medication to his girlfriend to end her pregnancy without her consent.

Detectives with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jon Rueben Gabriel Demeter, 25, on Feb. 23 after a woman told investigators she believed he had given her abortion pills without her knowledge.

Authorities said they were called to a hospital in The Woodlands on Feb. 21, where a woman was experiencing a miscarriage “under suspicious circumstances,” according to a local Fox affiliate.

The woman later delivered a stillborn girl, whom she named Presley Mae, according to a police report. The child’s gestational age was not released. The term “stillborn” generally refers to a deceased baby born after at least 20 weeks of pregnancy, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mifepristone, a drug commonly used in chemical abortions, is only approved for use through 10 weeks of pregnancy under current federal guidelines, meaning the father of the child may have endangered not only the life of Presley Mae but also of the mother.

Investigators said Demeter had repeatedly pressured the woman to terminate the pregnancy, including offering to drive her out of state for an abortion, but she declined, according to Texas Right to Life.

Demeter is being held in the Montgomery County Jail without bond and is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury, according to authorities. Charging documents list the alleged weapon as the medication, according to local reports.

“The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office commends the tireless dedication of our detectives, crime scene investigators, prosecutors and patrol personnel who worked on this difficult and sensitive case,” Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the mother and her family as they mourn the loss of Presley Mae.”

States fight disturbing trend

Demeter’s arrest is not the first of its kind and reveals a disturbing trend following the proliferation of abortion drugs.

Some states have challenged federal regulations allowing mifepristone to be prescribed without an in-person doctor’s visit and shipped by mail.

Louisiana heard arguments last week in its lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration over the regulation of mifepristone. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said in comments about the case that an online service shipped more than 118,000 packages of mifepristone into Louisiana between July and September 2024.

Perkins also cited figures stating that approximately 324,000 women suffered abuse in 2025, though he did not provide additional context.

“Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion has not decreased nationwide – it has increased, driven largely by the widespread distribution of chemical abortion through the mail,” Perkins said in a LifeNews article. “The very policy being challenged by the states is the primary engine behind that rise. This is not abstract. It is measurable. And it is preventable.”

Eight in 10 Republican voters believe the FDA should require an in-person doctor’s visit before prescribing mifepristone, according to polling from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. More than 30% of respondents said they would be “less enthusiastic” about voting in the upcoming midterm elections if “GOP leaders abandon pro-life policies,” the group said.

“This is not a marginal constituency, it is the GOP primary core,” Cygnal Senior Partner and pollster John Rogers said in a memo.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said current regulations on mifepristone are “dramatically at odds with the expectations of the base voters who propelled Trump and Vance to victory.”