( CNN ) -- Murder charges against two Maryland doctors over abortions they performed on late-term fetuses have been dropped , prosecutors said Wednesday . `` We have exercised our discretion to dismiss them at this point , '' said Cecil County State 's Attorney Ellis Rollins . The doctors , Steven Brigham and Nicola Riley , had faced identical charges : five counts each of first-degree murder , five of second-degree murder and one of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder . The investigation began August 13 , 2010 , when Riley brought a woman into an Elkton hospital due to a `` complication resulting from a medical procedure , '' police said . The woman had driven from New Jersey to Maryland for an abortion , investigators later determined . Days later , Elkton police searched the abortion clinic where Brigham and Riley work and found several fetuses `` in a freezer chest . '' The fetuses were taken to a medical examiner 's office in Baltimore , according a police news release . Maryland is one of 38 states that have fetal homicide laws , often supported by anti-abortion advocates , which advocates say are intended to protect the lives of both the pregnant woman and the fetus .
Murder charges are dropped against two doctors over late-term abortions they performed . The doctors , Steven Brigham and Nicola Riley , had each faced various counts of murder . Maryland is one of 38 states with fetal homicide laws .