As France makes abortion a constitutional right, UK women see sharp rise in abortion convictions

A law dating from 1861 is being used to prosecute women in England and Wales, in at least one case leading to incarceration.

March 4, 2024
By: Lara BULLENS

France has become the only country in the world to protect the right to terminate a pregnancy in its constitution after abortion access was officially added to the freedoms guaranteed in the French constitution on Monday. The move was a direct reaction to the rollback of abortion rights in the United States and elsewhere.

But across the English Channel, women are still at risk of prosecution for having the procedure because abortion in the UK has not been decriminalised. Britain is facing a sharp rise in abortion convictions, with a law dating from 1861 being used to prosecute women and in at least one case leading to incarceration.

Continued: https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240304-france-abortion-constitution-right-uk-woman-sharp-rise-abortion-convictions-england

More women investigated for illegal terminations, says abortion provider

An unprecedented number of women are being investigated by police on suspicion of illegally ending a pregnancy, the BBC has been told.

Feb 20, 2024
By Eleanor Layhe, Anna Meisel and Divya Talwar

Abortion provider MSI says it knows of up to 60 criminal inquiries in England and Wales since 2018, compared with almost zero before.

Some investigations followed natural pregnancy loss, File on 4 found.

Pregnancy loss is investigated only if credible evidence suggests a crime, the National Police Chiefs' Council says.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68305991

Abortion investigations causing women ‘life-changing harm’, says UK expert

Women losing ‘everything’ after being accused of illegal abortion in England and Wales, even if not charged, says Dr Jonathan Lord

Emine Sinmaz, Guardian
Sat 27 Jan 2024

Women in England and Wales accused of having illegal abortions have been held in custody after pregnancy loss, had their children taken into care and been saddled with debt, an expert has said.

Dr Jonathan Lord, a co-chair of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) abortion taskforce, said he was aware of up to 30 “deeply traumatic” cases where women had been investigated by the police, with some suffering “life-changing harm”. He said: “We’ve had patients lose everything – lose their home, lose their children, lose their relationship with their partner – purely as a consequence of the investigation.”

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/27/abortion-investigations-causing-women-life-changing-harm-says-uk-expert

UK – Abortion prosecutions are never in the public interest, says royal college

New guidance to say health staff should not report women suspected of illegally ending pregnancies to police

Harriet Sherwood
Mon 22 Jan 2024

Doctors and other healthcare staff should not report suspected illegal abortions to the police as prosecutions are never in the public interest, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has said.

In an intervention on Monday that will trigger further debate on the decriminalisation of abortion, Dr Ranee Thakar, the president of the professional body, said “outdated and antiquated” abortion laws meant women were left vulnerable to criminal investigation.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/22/illegal-abortions-prosecutions-uk-police-royal-college

22.01.2024

News

Bethany Cox

British Society of Abortion Care Providers

Carla Foster

Dr Jonathan Lord

Dr Ranee Thakar

Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Society for the Protection of Unborn Children

UK – ‘Deeply sinister’: Police testing women who have miscarriages for abortion drugs

Maya Oppenheim, Women’s Correspondent
Nov 2, 2023

Police are testing “distressed” women who have suffered miscarriages for abortion drugs, healthcare providers have warned. Medical professionals argue it is “deeply sinister” to test women who have endured a miscarriage who are suspected of illegal abortions for the drugs – arguing it adds to the guilt and stigma women routinely experience after pregnancy loss.

In one document, seen by The Independent, a bodily fluid sample was sent to a forensics lab to be analysed for a range of drugs – including the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol. Another reveals a woman who agreed to allow police to have access to samples of her bodily fluids taken by NHS staff.

Continued: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/police-testing-abortion-drugs-miscarriage-b2439733.html

Abortion UK: Women ‘manipulated’ in crisis pregnancy advice centres

Feb 27, 2023
By Eleanor Layhe & Divya Talwar, BBC Panorama

Women are being misled and manipulated about abortion by some crisis pregnancy advice centres in the UK, according to evidence from a Panorama investigation.

The centres operate outside the NHS and tend to be registered charities. Most say they don't refer women for abortions, but offer support and counselling for unplanned pregnancies.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64751800

UK – Pregnant woman shocked after GP ‘gave her anti-abortion leaflet’

Woman was reportedly handed information from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children at London clinic

Shanti Das
Sat 30 Jul 2022

A pregnant woman who told her GP she was considering having an abortion says she was left “shocked and traumatised” after being given a leaflet for an anti-abortion group.

The woman, 38, says she was seeking treatment for a bladder problem on 19 July when a doctor at All Saints Medical Centre in Plumstead, south-east London, asked whether she was pregnant.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/30/pregnant-woman-shocked-gp-anti-abortion-leaflet-society-protection-unborn-children-spuc

US Donors Are Helping Push Anti-Abortion Agendas in British Schools

A British anti-abortion group that gives talks in schools has received over £72,000 from the US over the last 2 years, VICE World News can reveal.

By Sophia Smith Galer
May 30, 2022

An anti-abortion group in the UK that gives talks to schoolchildren and medical professionals about what it terms “coerced abortion” is receiving tens of thousands of dollars from anonymous US-based backers, VICE World News can reveal.

Nearly £73,000 ($91,885, €85,330) has been donated anonymously via a donor agency called NPT Transatlantic in the past two years to the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child’s (SPUC) registered charity, one of the UK’s most active anti-abortion groups. The agency allows US and UK taxpayers to donate to organisations across the Atlantic without revealing their name and without qualifying for any tax deduction.

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en/article/93be83/anti-abortion-schools-uk

Scotland – Catholic church officer on board of anti-abortion charity

Constance Kampfner
Monday November 22 2021

A senior member of the Scottish Catholic church sits on the board of an anti-abortion charity, whose Belfast branch once peddled falsehoods about terminations leading to breast cancer, it can be revealed.

Stanton Healthcare, a group based in the US, is set to open a second UK branch, in Scotland, with the backing of the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh, which has promised to support its “much-needed work”.

Continued: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/catholic-church-officer-on-board-of-anti-abortion-charity-z88np78tm

UK – Woman in her 40s felt ‘scared and pressured’ by Marie Stopes when quizzed about ‘abortion reversal’ treatment she received from pro-life medic

By STEPHEN ADAMS FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
3 July 2021

A vulnerable woman has told the General Medical Council she felt 'scared and pressured' when the medical director of a major abortion provider quizzed her about 'abortion reversal' treatment she received from a pro-life doctor.

The woman, a mother in her 40s, sought help from NHS consultant Dr Dermot Kearney after she started a 'pills by post' abortion, but then changed her mind.

Continued: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9753587/Woman-40s-felt-scared-pressured-quizzed-abortion-reversal-treatment.html