Police could search homes and seize phones after sudden pregnancy loss

New national guidance suggests officers look for menstrual tracking apps or abortion drugs

- Phoebe Davis

Police have been issued guidance on how to search women's homes for abortion drugs and check their phones for menstrual cycle tracking apps after unexpected pregnancy loss.

New guidance from the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) on "child death investigation" advises officers to search for "drugs that can terminate pregnancy" in cases involving stillbirths. The NPCC, which sets strategic direction for policing, also suggests a woman's digital devices could be seized to help "establish a woman's knowledge and intention in relation to the pregnancy". That could include checking internet searches, messages to family, and health apps, "such as fertility trackers", it states.

Details are also provided for how police could bypass legal requirements for a court order to obtain medical records about a woman's abortion from NHS providers.