UK: Mother Jailed Over Illegal Abortion to Be Freed
On Tuesday, the UK Court of Appeal halved and suspended the 28-month sentence handed in June to a woman for illegally procuring the termination of her pregnancy during the COVID lockdown. The Court immediately released her from prison.
Facts
- On Tuesday, the UK Court of Appeal halved and suspended the 28-month sentence handed in June to a woman for illegally procuring the termination of her pregnancy during the COVID lockdown. The Court immediately released her from prison.1
- Sitting with two other judges, Dame Victoria Sharp stated that this case calls for compassion, rather than for punishment, stressing that detaining the mother-of-three Carla Foster in custody for 35 days has served no useful purpose.2
- Foster induced a miscarriage after moving back in with her ex-partner at the start of the lockdown while carrying another man's child. The baby was born not breathing on May 11, 2020, and pronounced dead about 45 minutes later.3
- She had previously admitted having illegally taken abortion tablets — which she received under the "pills by post" scheme for unwanted pregnancies up to 10 weeks after a remote consultation — when she was between 32-34 weeks pregnant.4
- Abortion is currently legal in Britain up to the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, with the law allowing those who are less than 10 weeks pregnant to conduct procedure at home using pills.5
- This ruling comes a day after another woman — 22-year-old Bethany Cox — was granted unconditional bail to appear at Teesside Crown Court next month as she has also been charged with "child destruction" under the Person Act 1861.6
Sources: 1Sky News, 2Independent, 3BBC News, 4Guardian (a), 5CNN, and 6Guardian (b).
Narratives
- Left narrative, as provided by Guardian. This ruling underscores that British abortion laws must be reformed to protect women seeking healthcare from a cruel, outdated criminal justice system that doesn't reflect the current values of society. It's completely nonsensical to prosecute a woman for taking such a desperate action at a desperate time in her life.
- Right narrative, as provided by Spectator (UK). While this is indeed a sad case, Carla Foster belongs behind bars as she knew that her pregnancy was far more advanced than the legal limit for an abortion in general, let alone the ten-week limit for using abortion pills prescribed remotely. An abortion carried out that late cannot be distinguished from infanticide.
