Mother jailed for late-stage abortion ignites UK law reform debate

In a controversial case that has sparked a heated debate, a 44-year-old mother of three has been sentenced to 28 months in prison for procuring an abortion beyond the 24-week legal limit in the UK. The woman obtained the abortion pills through the post during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 when in-person services were limited due to social distancing measures. She admitted to misleading the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) about the stage of her pregnancy to obtain the pills.

The woman’s actions have ignited calls for the decriminalisation of abortion and a reform of the UK’s abortion laws. Dame Diana Johnson, chair of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, has urged the government to “step up” and decriminalise abortions. Harriet Wistrich, head of the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ), questioned the legislation and the prosecution of the woman, stating, “What possible purpose is served in criminalising and imprisoning this woman when at most she needs better access to healthcare and other support?”

Chiara Capraro, head of Amnesty International’s women’s human rights programme, described the decision as “shocking and quite frankly terrifying,” adding that “access to abortion is essential healthcare and should be managed as such.”

Nazir Afzal, former chief crown prosecutor for the northwest of England, argued that it was not in the public interest to prosecute. He told the BBC, “Had I been involved, had I been doing this particular case, I would not have prosecuted it.”

The judge presiding over the case, Justice Edward Pepperall, stated that the case concerned “one woman’s tragic and unlawful decision to obtain a very late abortion.” He added that the balance between a woman’s reproductive rights and the rights of her unborn foetus is a matter for Parliament, not the courts.

The case has prompted outrage on social media, with many calling for a change in the law. Nadia Whittome, a politician with the main opposition Labour Party, tweeted, “No woman should be in prison for making decisions about her own body. This shocking case highlights the urgent need to change the law. Abortion is healthcare. It must be decriminalised, now.”

BPAS echoed this sentiment, tweeting, “No woman can ever go through this again. We need abortion law reform in Great Britain NOW.”

Dame Diana, who has previously tried to repeal the 1861 legislation, stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, “I think Parliament has a role now to look at reforming our abortion laws. There’s no other country in the world, as I understand it, that would criminalise a woman in this way.”