Rishi Sunak has refused to bow to calls for abortion reform after a mum-of-three was jailed for taking abortion pills after the legal cut-off during the coronavirus lockdown.
Carla Foster, 44, was jailed for 28 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Monday (12 June) after she admitted illegally procuring her own abortion when she was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant.
The decision to jail the mother has prompted backlash, with campaigners and politicians calling for a reform to the current 1861 abortion legislation used to prosecute her.
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Abortions are generally only legal before 24 weeks and are carried out in clinics after 10 weeks of pregnancy.
Dame Diana Johnson, the chair of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, urged the Government to 'step up' and decriminalise abortions so women cannot be jailed in such cases.
But Downing Street have said there were no plans to change abortion laws or sentencing guidelines.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: "Through the Abortion Act, all women have access to safe abortions on the NHS up to 24 weeks and we have made changes so that now includes taking abortion pills at home.
"We think this approach provides the right balance and … there are no plans to change this." The spokesman added: "We recognise that this is a highly emotive issue and obviously we recognise that the strength of feeling on all sides."
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard Foster was sent the drugs by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) after she lied about how far along in her pregnancy she was during 2020’s pandemic lockdown.
The prosecution said Foster made a number of internet searches between February and May 2020, including 'how to hide a pregnancy bump', 'how to have an abortion without going to the doctor' and 'how to lose a baby at six months.'
Her barrister, Barry White said Covid lockdowns had changed the way healthcare and advice services were operating to minimise face-to-face contact.
He told the court: "The restrictions placed on services to advise women may explain why there were so many internet searches for information on behalf of the defendant.
"We can never really know or imagine the turmoil she would have been experiencing at the time. The defendant may well have made use of services had they been available at the time. This will haunt her forever."
Caroline Nokes, the Conservative who chairs the Commons Women and Equalities Committee, joined women’s rights groups in calling for changes to the legislation.
Ms Nokes told BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight programme: "This is not something that has been debated in any great detail for many years now. And cases like this, although tragic and fortunately very rare, do throw into stark relief that we are reliant on legislation that is very, very out of date.
"I think that makes a case for Parliament to start looking at this issue in detail."
Former chief crown prosecutor for the North West Nazir Afzal argued it was not in the public interest to prosecute the mother of three.
Citing public feeling towards laws restricting abortions and her mitigating factors, he told Today: "Had I been involved, had I been doing this particular case, I would not have prosecuted it.
"This whole terrible event took place during the pandemic and people were making some terrible choices during that period that perhaps they regret now. And I think that’s one of the things I would have factored in in relation to this particular case.”
Centre for Women’s Justice director Harriet Wistrich said: "What possible purpose is served in criminalising and imprisoning this woman, when at most she needs better access to healthcare and other support?”
The Crown Prosecution Service said the case was 'complex and traumatic', but said it has a duty to ensure laws are 'properly considered and applied when making difficult charging decisions.'
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