The women

Confused. Scared. Alone.

Help us change abortion law

No woman should be criminalised for ending her own pregnancy, but that's exactly what happened to these women. Read their stories below and take action to make sure it never happens again.

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Zara

Zara was a young teenager when she was investigated by the police after a stillbirth at 28 weeks, accused of illegal abortion. Her phone and laptop were confiscated during her GCSEs, and the distress of the investigation drove her to self-harm. The investigation only concluded when, over a year later, the coroner found that the pregnancy had ended as a result of natural causes

Tracey

Went into premature labour at home. As she resuscitated her baby, seven police officers searched her bins before paramedics arrived. She was interviewed under caution for suspected illegal abortion and was not allowed home for a week as it was sealed off as a crime scene. She remained under police investigation for a year, unable to visit her baby without supervision.

Laura

Was at university and the mother of a toddler when she pled guilty to ending her own pregnancy using pills she bought online. The prosecution told her if she didn't plead guilty she would be jailed for life - she ended up spending more than two years in prison. At the time she was in a physically, sexually, and emotionally abusive relationship. Her partner told her not to go to the doctor. When she was arrested, he told her he would kill her if she told anyone he was involved. Her partner was never investigated by the police.

Jackie

As a teenager she was arrested at midnight and held in custody for 19 hours on suspicion of ending her own pregnancy. The police raid was the first time her parents learnt she had been pregnant. She maintained for more than 6 years that she had suffered a stillbirth - something the prosecution only accepted at the beginning of her second trial despite never testing positive for abortion medication. She was punished under related laws.

Paula

In the first weeks of the Covid pandemic, she took abortion medication and gave birth at home. Her housemate called for an ambulance and the police attended. They searched her flat while she was in hospital and suspected she was the victim of trafficking and exploitation. They interviewed her and investigated her for abortion offences, during which time she fled without receiving any further support.

Jessica

Aged 19, she took abortion medication and gave birth at home. She was interviewed by the police and told them that she had believed she was early in pregnancy. Three years later, on the eve of her trial for illegal abortion - after her name, address, photographs and medical history had been widely published - prosecutors said they had no evidence to achieve a conviction and accepted that she had told the police the truth from the start. She was found not guilty. The next day, tabloid journalists turned up at her grandparents' house looking for her.

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