TX Man Arrested After Allegedly Killing His Baby With Abortifacient

A man who law enforcement says worked in IT at the U.S. Department of Justice was arrested on a capital murder charge this week on suspicion that he allegedly poisoned his girlfriend with an abortion drug that caused the death of their unborn child.

Justin Anthony Banta is now in custody after a months-long, agency-wide investigation into his unborn baby’s demise, which law enforcement says appears to be the result of an abortion pill he slipped his pregnant girlfriend without her knowledge or consent.

According to the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, the 38-year-old and his then-girlfriend became pregnant in September 2024. The woman wanted to keep the baby, but Banta repeatedly pushed her to abort and even offered to pay for the life-ending procedure. At one point, Banta even “suggested” that they take advantage of the abortion pill black market to illegally import mail-order mifepristone into the Lone Star State.

The woman could have given in to Banta’s urging. After all, nearly 70 percent of abortions are believed to be unwanted or coerced. Instead, she moved forward with prenatal care. At six weeks of gestation in October 2024, she received an ultrasound that showed the “baby had a strong heartbeat, displayed good vital signs, and was said to be healthy by her doctor.”

It was only after the woman met Banta at a coffee shop following the appointment that her health began to deteriorate. At the time, law enforcement said she “expressed her suspicion that Banta had secretly added abortion-inducing pills to her drink without her knowledge or permission.”

One day after a good report from the obstetrician, the woman started to “suffer from extreme fatigue and heavy bleeding” and ended up in the emergency room. She lost her baby the next day to what “she believed was a result of the drugs Banta had previously placed in her drink at the coffee shop without her permission.”

The death of Banta’s child raised suspicion with not only his girlfriend but also law enforcement, who interviewed him and subsequently collected his phone as evidence. Officers claim Banta used his technological knowledge and skill to remotely access the confiscated cell phone and reset it, “thereby deleting crucial evidence related to the case.”

The result was a felony arrest warrant that led to his apprehension and another charge — this time for tampering with physical evidence. Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier said Banta’s cases “remain active and are awaiting prosecution,” but will likely not yield more public details “due to the ongoing investigation” which involves the Texas Rangers, Benbrook Police, Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Digital Forensic and Technical Services, the U.S. Secret Service, the Regional Organized Crime Information Center, and the FBI.

Mifepristone, the most popular abortifacient on the market, is known to cause hemorrhage, “fast, weak pulse,” “shortness of breath,” diarrhea, dizziness, headache, vomiting, “pain” across the back, arms, neck, and abdomen. In fact, a recent study found that the rate of life-threatening complications, including a trip to the ER, in women who ingest the pill is 22 times higher than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration claims.

Even if the women who take the abortion drug regimen appear physically unscathed, the pills almost always result in death for the unborn baby.

States such as Texas and Louisiana have laws that bar or even punish people who knowingly induce chemical abortion in a woman without her consent. Those pro-life protections, however, are vehemently opposed by Democrats and corporate media who, despite routinely touting the misnomered “woman’s right to choose,” claim the laws interfere with their abortion agenda.

Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.