A woman on trial for ‘procuring her own abortion’ has finally seen her case dropped after enduring years of police investigations.
Clare Murphy, Chief Executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said:
“This is the right decision taken at the wrong time. It was clearly never in the public interest for a woman to be criminalised for attempting to end her own pregnancy in the UK in 2021, and it’s frankly ludicrous that it has taken this long for the CPS to recognise it.
“Sadly we know that across England today there is another woman being prosecuted and several more under police investigation as a result of outdated abortion laws. These women deserve more from our legal system – the law needs to be overhauled so that no more women in these desperate circumstances are ever threatened with prison again.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact Katherine O’Brien, BPAS Associate Director of Campaigns and Communications, on katherine.o’brien@bpas.org or 07881 265276.
About BPAS
BPAS is a charity that sees over 100,000 women a year for reproductive healthcare services including pregnancy counselling, abortion care, miscarriage management and contraception at clinics across Great Britain. It supports and advocates for reproductive choice. BPAS also runs the Centre for Reproductive Research and Communication, which seeks to develop and deliver a research agenda that furthers women’s access to evidence-based reproductive healthcare, driven by an understanding of women’s perspectives and needs. You can find out more here: https://www.bpas.org/get-involved/centre-for-reproductive-research-communication/
