High-profile prosecutions prompted calls to legalise

Demands for decriminalisation of abortions have been growing louder in recent years – in line with a growing number of women being prosecuted for terminating their pregnancies.

- Hannah Al-Othman

Until 2022, it is believed that only three women had ever been convicted of having an illegal abortion in the 150 years since 1861, when the procedure was made illegal under the Offences Against the Person Act.

But in the past four years, at least half a dozen women have found themselves in the dock of a crown court accused of ending their pregnancy, and dozens more have been arrested or investigated.

Two high-profile cases in particular prompted the calls for change. Carla Foster was jailed in 2023 for an illegal abortion, before having her sentence suspended a month later by the court of appeal. And just weeks ago, Nicola Packer was cleared by a jury after spending almost five years facing the threat of prison.

Thirteen people, both men and women, made a first appearance at magistrates’ court charged with abortion-related offences in 2022, according to freedom of information data from the Crown Prosecution Service, compared with four people in 2019 and three in both 2020 and 2021.