Northern Ireland: Woman who bought abortion pills for daughter in Court to challenge prosecution
17th September 2018
A mother who bought her then 15-year-old daughter abortion pills online is challenging a decision by the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland to prosecute her. The ground-breaking case will focus attention on the criminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland. It is the first time the Public Prosecution Service has been challenged on a decision relating to Northern Ireland’s restrictive abortion law. The case will be heard on Thursday 20 September at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast.
The mother faces two charges of unlawfully procuring and supplying the abortion drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, with intent to procure a miscarriage, contrary to the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. If her challenge is unsuccessful, the mother faces a criminal trial and up to 10 years in prison.