Why UK campaigners fear drive to decriminalise abortion may stall

Carla Foster’s release welcomed but case has done little to settle debate about abortions carried after 24-week limit

Alexandra Topping
Tue 18 Jul 2023

On Tuesday, Carla Foster, who was jailed for terminating her pregnancy after the legal time limit last month, was told by the court of appeal that she would be released from prison after her 28-month sentence was halved and suspended.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) says there are three more women accused of illegally ending their own pregnancies awaiting trial, adding that in the last three years there has been an increase in the number of women and girls facing police investigations and threatened with up to life imprisonment.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/18/why-uk-campaigners-fear-drive-to-decriminalisation-abortion-may-stalln

Case of UK woman jailed for late abortion is difficult for activists on both sides

Pro-choice and anti-abortion supporters face dilemmas arising from the recent tragic case, making it difficult to press ministers for a change in the law

Alexandra Topping and Ben Quinn
Sat 17 Jun 2023

To those familiar with the fraught battle lines around one of society’s most emotive issues, the reaction of anti-abortion campaigners in the hours after a woman was jailed for procuring a late abortion appeared muted.

Key voices from major anti-abortion groups were conspicuously absent in the coverage, while pro-choice campaigners’ calls for decriminalisation were tempered by the insistence that they were not calling for freely available abortion at any stage of a pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/17/case-uk-woman-jailed-late-abortion-difficult-both-sides

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

MPs vote to continue abortion ‘pills by post’ scheme in England

Government will be forced to abandon its plan to end a two-year trial of the scheme in August

Denis Campbell Health policy editor
Wed 30 Mar 2022

Women in England will be able to access a “pills by post” abortion service indefinitely after MPs voted today to compel ministers to make it permanent instead of scrapping the scheme in September.

The decision will benefit tens of thousands of women every year who want to take the two tablets needed to end a pregnancy in the privacy of their own home rather than having to take the first at a clinic or hospital. They have to be taken within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/30/mps-vote-to-continue-abortion-pills-by-post-scheme-in-england

UK – At-home abortion care to continue after being introduced in lockdown

Several MPs spoke passionately about their experiences of family members having to go to clinics for early abortions.

Alix Culbertson, Political reporter
Wednesday 30 March 2022

MPs have voted to allow women in England to continue to access abortion care at home after it was introduced during the pandemic.

Before the pandemic, women were required to attend a clinic in-person to access abortion pills, but during the first lockdown in March 2020 women have been able to receive the pills by post following a phone or video consultation.

Continued: https://news.sky.com/story/mps-vote-to-continue-at-home-abortion-care-introduced-in-lockdown-12578383

Online abortion service, Women on Web, will continue to provide abortion care after at-home abortions end in England

For immediate release 25/02/2022

Women on Web
will continue to provide telemedical abortion services in England after the
29th of August 2022, when women are set to lose their right to have early
medical abortions at home.

In March 2020, the UK Government authorized home use of abortion pills in
response to the pandemic. Women accessing medical abortion up to 10 weeks’
gestation have been able to consult with a provider by phone and have
Mifepristone and Misoprostol mailed for home use.

Continued: https://www.womenonweb.org/en/page/21329/online-abortion-service-women-on-web-will-continue-to-provide

25.02.2022

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UK – Using the government consultation on abortion to advocate for women’

11 FEBRUARY, 2021
BY RUTH BAILEY

The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on healthcare, and we have all had to respond to this on some level and change the way we practise. There have been few good things to come of this, but the opportunity to change the law in relation to abortion care could be one of them.

We have all had to adapt the way that we deliver services and abortion care is no exception. Abortion is the most common gynaecological procedure and an essential component of sexual and reproductive care.

Continued: https://www.nursingtimes.net/opinion/using-the-government-consultation-on-abortion-to-advocate-for-women-11-02-2021/

11.02.2021

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New research calls for relaxation of abortion care laws in Britain and the USA

New research calls for relaxation of abortion
care laws in Britain and the USA

29 June, 2020

Experts from The University of Manchester and The University of Bristol are
calling for permanent laws allowing so-called ‘pills by post’ abortion services
to be enacted in Great Britain and the USA, in order to address barriers to
care highlighted by the coronavirus crisis.

Measures taken in response to the pandemic
have had an unprecedented impact on people’s daily lives, and their access to
healthcare – the lockdown has caused clinics to close due to a lack of staff,
childcare and public transport to be less available, and has made people more
reluctant to visit healthcare settings.

Continued: https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/new-research-calls-for-relaxation-of-abortion-care-laws/