Woman Jailed For Possible Abortion After Suffering Terrible Accident

A woman was held in police custody for 36 hours after enduring a stillbirth due to suspicions that she had an abortion after the legal cut-off point.

UK abortion providers, who supported the woman, denied she had circumvented the legal deadline and warned the treatment she endured “should be unthinkable in a civilized society”, with “no conceivable” public interest in holding her.

They added that the woman has been under investigation for a year and a half, but she still has not been charged with any crime.

Jonathan Lord, medical director of MSI Reproductive Choices, one of the UK’s leading abortion providers said the woman unexpectedly delivered a stillborn fetus at home which was around 24 weeks old.

The woman, who was in her early 40s, had a stillbirth last year after getting in touch with MSI Reproductive Choices to inquire about an unwanted pregnancy and abortion.

Dr. Lord, the co-chair of the British Society of Abortion Care Providers, who shared the woman’s story, said: “She was shocked to give birth due to not knowing how far along pregnant she was. She was admitted to the hospital.

“Because healthcare colleagues were suspicious, and knew she had been in touch with us, an abortion provider, as she told them, they suspected her of having an illegal abortion and called the police. But she wasn’t over the limit for a legal abortion.

“The police arrested her in hospital. She stayed the night in the hospital and then was discharged the following morning straight into police custody. It took them 36 hours to process her.”

Dr. Lord said the experience of having an “extraordinarily unexpected” stillbirth before being taken into police custody during lockdown was “traumatic” and “distressing” for the woman.

Abortions can legally be carried out within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Dr. Lord, a consultant gynecologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, said the patient had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as the police investigation remains active.

“She has still got PTSD,” he added. “Not from the event of the delivery, but from being labeled as a criminal and held in custody. She knows she is under investigation but does not know what for. The police confiscated her phone and laptop”.

Dr. Lord, who contributed to drawing up the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) abortion care guideline and quality standards committees, added that he has access to the birth weight and measurements of the stillborn child and is confident it is under 24 weeks.

He also cited a teenage girl who was investigated after she gave birth to a stillborn at 28 weeks of pregnancy last year.

Dr. Lord added: “There is no conceivable public interest in subjecting these women to the immense stress and trauma of knowing they could face long prison sentences for having lost their pregnancy unexpectedly.

“At a time they most need access to their friends, healthcare professionals, and advocates, they are isolated as their phones and computers are impounded. Any innocuous internet search or message with friends – such as ‘how do I get an abortion?’ – can be used as evidence against them.

“That a woman can spend 36 hours in a police cell whilst recovering from surgery following pregnancy loss, resulting in PTSD, or a young teenager can be driven to self-harm and have her confidentiality destroyed, should be unthinkable in a civilized society.”

“Staff wrongly assume they must inform the police to investigate, even though to breach confidentiality may be against their professional regulatory codes. Police and prosecution services seem unwilling to apply compassion or a public interest test.”