'Prison is no place for a woman after abortion'

JUDGEMENT: Charlotte says abortion law is in need of reform.

- Charlotte Atkins - Labour district councillor for Leek North and Cabinet Member for Services at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council

LAST month Nicola Parker, aged 45, was acquitted of unlawfully procuring an abortion after taking medication at home during the Covid-19 lockdown.

She was accused by the prosecution of knowing she was more than 10 weeks pregnant, the legal limit for the use of such abortion pills.

Nicola took the pills after being prescribed medication under emergency pandemic legislation in November 2020 and later delivered a stillborn baby estimated to be about 26 weeks in gestation.

She was found not guilty by a jury who returned a unanimous verdict after a two week trial. But this whole tragic case took four-and-a-half years to resolve.

This case loomed over Nicola for almost half a decade and resulted in the most personal details of her life, including medical history, sexual preferences and even intimate photographs being shared in court.

Having suffered the traumatic experience of delivering a small but fully formed baby when she thought she was just a few weeks pregnant, Nicola sought medical attention.

Having spent the night in hospital, she was arrested by police the next day and taken into custody, held in a cell still bleeding having had major surgery.