Dark day for reproductive rights in the UK – woman jailed for illegal abortion (The National)

Pro-choice activists react as mum-of-three jailed

Full article

It is a “dark day for reproductive rights”, pro-choice campaigners have said, after a woman was jailed after illegally having an abortion during the pandemic.

The woman, who has not been named, was sent abortion-causing drugs by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) after she called them in 2020 and lied about how far along her pregnancy was.

It is illegal to intentionally use the abortion medication, mifepristone, at home past 10 weeks gestation. The woman was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant when she took the abortion medication.

(…)

Dr Ann Olivarius, an international feminist lawyer, joined criticism online, writing: “So, between them, police forces and [the Crown Prosecution Service] manage a prosecution rate of rapes of … 2%.

“But they, somehow, find the time for this mother of four.

“And, she’ll be serving roughly as much time as a rapist [who has] used a weapon. #decriminaliseabortion.”