Australia: A Woman’s Abortion Conviction Is An Unexpected Wake-Up Call, Experts Say

A Woman’s Abortion Conviction Is An Unexpected Wake-Up Call, Experts Say

by Sam Langford
16 August 2017

Legal experts say that a Sydney woman’s conviction for taking abortion drugs is almost unheard of in NSW, and that the surprising case highlights the urgent need for abortion law reform.

In a judgment handed down on July 5 in Blacktown Local Court, Magistrate Geoff Hiatt found a woman who self-administered drugs to abort her pregnancy guilty of a criminal offence. The maximum penalty for the offence is 10 years imprisonment but as it was dealt with summarily in a local court the convicted woman faces a maximum two year sentence.

Continued at source: Junkee: http://junkee.com/sydney-abortion-conviction-unexpected/118317

Australia: Sydney woman prosecuted for taking abortion drug

Sydney woman prosecuted for taking abortion drug

Michaela Whitbourn
August 14 2017

A Sydney woman who bought pills on the internet to abort her child after her boyfriend urged her to terminate the pregnancy has been prosecuted for self-administering a drug to procure a miscarriage.

In a decision on July 5, made public on Monday, Local Court magistrate Geoffrey Hiatt said the woman, who was 28 at the time, had a "clear intent to procure a miscarriage".

Continued at source: Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-woman-prosecuted-for-taking-abortion-drug-20170814-gxvoqd.html

14.08.2017