UK – Abortion prison sentence shows the law is focused on foetuses – why that’s dangerous for women

June 16, 2023
Emma Milne

The imprisonment of a woman in the UK for taking abortion pills at 32-34 weeks of pregnancy has shocked many. Most people are still unaware that abortion at any stage of pregnancy is illegal in England and Wales, unless authorised by two doctors.

Any woman who obtains abortion medication from sources other than an official provider faces the prospect of life imprisonment under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. As does any woman who uses legally obtained medication in any way other than as directed, for example, delaying taking the medication.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/abortion-prison-sentence-shows-the-law-is-focused-on-foetuses-why-thats-dangerous-for-women-207648

16.06.2023

Opinion

criminalization of abortion

Emma Milne

fetal personhood

fetal protection laws

jailing women for abortion

Offences Against the Person Act 1861

“The case of Carla Foster proves that in the UK, abortion is essentially criminal”

The 44-year-old mother of three was sentenced to 28 months in prison for having an abortion past the legal time limitations. Her story brings to light the deeply troubling reality for women in Britain

BY MARISA BATE
16 JUNE 2023

By now I’m sure you’re familiar with the case of Carla Foster, a 44-year-old mother of three who took abortion pills at home past the legal time limitations, resulting in the miscarriage of a 32-34 week old foetus. This week, she was sentenced to 28 months in prison under an Act from 1861. She will serve 14 months in custody, separated from her three children, one of whom the judge described as having “special needs, which means that he is particularly reliant upon your love and support”. The judge also made plain that Foster was vulnerable. The abortion took place during the first lockdown, a frightening and confusing time for us all, and a time when telemedicine abortion care was introduced as in-person clinics closed. Foster had moved back in with her former but now estranged partner, before discovering she was pregnant with a child from another man.

Continued: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/culture-news/a44210247/carla-foster-abortion-opinion/

16.06.2023

Opinion

Carla Foster

domestic abuse

intimate partner violence

jailing women for abortion

Justice Edward Pepperall

Marisa Bate

Prison Reform Trust

telemedicine abortion

Woman jailed over abortion – an expert on what UK law actually says and what needs to change

June 14, 2023
Claire Pierson, Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Liverpool

Many people assume that because abortion is relatively accessible in England, it is not a crime. The fact that a woman has now received a 28-month prison sentence for taking abortion pills past the legal time limit shows that this assumption is wrong.

Abortion remains within the criminal law to some extent in almost every country globally, despite the fact that it is a safe and relatively common procedure. Laws can criminalise women and pregnant people, healthcare providers or anyone who helps a woman get an abortion. The sentencing in Poland of activist Justyna Wydrzyńska is one example. In March 2023, she received eight months community service for aiding an abortion seeker.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/woman-jailed-over-abortion-an-expert-on-what-uk-law-actually-says-and-what-needs-to-change-207578

14.06.2023

Commentary

1861 Offences against the Person Act

1967 Abortion Act

Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020

Claire Pierson

decriminalisation of abortion

jailing women for abortion

UK – Debate about woman jailed for abortion is missing something crucial

Britain is rightly outraged by a woman’s imprisonment for abortion. But there’s no such thing as a good jail sentence

Janey Starling
14 June 2023

A mother of three has been sent to prison for ending a pregnancy and Britain is in uproar. Radio stations are rolling out condone-or-condemn debates on the woman’s choice to end her pregnancy. Feminists on Twitter are contrasting the length of her sentence with the average time men serve for rape. But, amid the outrage, aren’t we missing something startlingly obvious?

This is a chilling reminder of the state’s power to police both women’s pregnancies and their right to be mothers, and a flexing of the cruelty that the state is willing to inflict on mothers – and consequently, the children who depend on their care.

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/woman-jailed-abortion-28-months-criminalisation-pregnancy-prison-jail/

14.06.2023

jailing women for abortion

Janey Starling

reproductive justice

Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice

Calls for abortion to be decriminalised amid row over jailing of UK woman

Leading expert warns of ‘sustained attacks’ on reproductive rights after sentence imposed on Monday

Alexandra Topping and Tobi Thomas
Tue 13 Jun 2023

Leading women’s health experts have warned of an attack on women’s reproductive rights and the potential for more prosecutions, following the jailing of a woman for terminating her pregnancy after the legal time limit.

The president of the UK’s leading body for sexual health professionals said that women should be “more worried than they are” following the sentencing, adding that it could lead to sustained attacks on established rights, and efforts to curtail reforms.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/13/calls-for-abortion-to-be-decriminalised-amid-row-over-jailing-of-uk-woman

UK – The Guardian view on abortion law: the case for decriminalisation

The outrage caused by the jailing of a mother for ending her pregnancy after the legal limit should spark a wider rethink of archaic legislation

Editorial
Tue 13 Jun 2023

The case of a mother prosecuted for inducing her own abortion after the legal limit is tragic. Her imprisonment is unconscionable. The judge accepted that she was in “emotional turmoil” when she ended her pregnancy at between 32 and 34 weeks: with lockdown imposed, she had moved back in with her estranged partner while carrying another man’s child and was seeking to hide the pregnancy. She has since experienced guilt and depression, and is plagued by nightmares and “flashbacks to seeing [her] dead child’s face”. Her three children, one of whom has special needs and is thus especially reliant upon her, will be denied her for the next 14 months.
decri
Many have asked good questions about the decisions of prosecutors to pursue the case in these circumstances, and of the judge to impose a prison sentence. Nonetheless, as the judge identified, ultimately the issue is the law itself.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/13/the-guardian-view-on-abortion-law-the-case-for-decriminalisation

13.06.2023

Editorial

British Medical Association

British Pregnancy Advisory Service

decriminalisation of abortion

jailing women for abortion

As a woman is jailed, UK urged to reform ‘outdated’ abortion laws

Public anger rises after a judge decided to prosecute a woman who secured pills for a late-term abortion.

13 Jun 2023

Women’s rights groups, politicians and medics are calling on the British government to reform abortion laws after a woman was jailed for taking pills to end her pregnancy after the 24-week limit.

The 44-year-old mother of three was sent the medicine by post during a COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, a scheme that was introduced during the pandemic because many in-person services were closed due to social distancing measures.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/13/as-a-woman-is-jailed-uk-urged-to-reform-outdated-abortion-laws

UK – Senior Tory MP seeks abortion law rethink after mother jailed

June 13, 2023
By Jasmine Andersson & Sean Seddon, BBC News

Parliament should debate overhauling abortion rules after a woman was jailed, the chair of the Commons equalities committee has said. Caroline Nokes MP told the BBC the 1861 law used to prosecute mother-of-three Carla Foster was "out of date".

The 44-year-old was convicted of inducing an abortion outside the legal limit using pills at home. Campaigners urged reform after she received a sentence of 28 months, 14 of which will be spent in custody.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65886472

Outrage at jail sentence for woman who took abortion pills later than UK limit

Mitigation plea signed by medical groups was sent to judge, while BPAS chief executive said sentence was ‘shocking and appalling’

Tobi Thomas
Mon 12 Jun 2023

Campaigners and MPs have reacted with outrage to a woman being sentenced to more than two years in prison for procuring drugs to induce an abortion after the legal limit.

The mother of three received the medication under the “pills by post” scheme, which was introduced during the Covid pandemic for unwanted pregnancies up to 10 weeks, after a remote consultation.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/12/woman-in-uk-jailed-for-28-months-over-taking-abortion-pills-after-legal-time-limit

In Mexico, legal struggle to free women jailed for abortion

By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ
Dec 28, 2022

MEXICO CITY (AP) — About 200 women are still in prison in Mexico under outdated anti-abortion state laws even though the Supreme Court decriminalized abortion last year, advocates said.

Some of these women suffered miscarriages and never had an abortion procedure, advocates said. Yet they are still being punished under many state laws that consider abortion to be a form of homicide.

Continued: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-mexico-reproductive-rights-government-67e1a36096bf3390e9d38bad9ff4bbdd

28.12.2022