UK Woman Jailed for Having an Abortion To Be Released

A woman in the U.K. is set to be released from prison after having an abortion.

Carla Foster, who had not been previously named, will have her sentence reduced from two years to 14 months and will serve the remainder of it suspended, meaning that she can now be reunited with her three children.

The 45-year-old was found guilty of taking abortion pills, which she obtained under the “pills by post” scheme during the height of the first COVID lockdown, at 28 weeks. However, the pills are only supposed to be taken up to 10 weeks into pregnancy.

As many people pointed out at the time that she was sentenced, one of the judges in her appeal, Dame Victoria Sharp, said, “This is a very sad case … It is a case that calls for compassion, not punishment,” and that there was  “no useful purpose is served” by keeping Foster behind bars.

Chief executive of BPAS, Clare Murphy, urged for legislation around abortion to be reformed as the law under which Foster had been prosecuted is over a century and a half old.

“The court of appeal has today recognized that this cruel, antiquated law does not reflect the values of society today. Now is the time to reform abortion law so that no more women are unjustly criminalized for taking desperate actions at a desperate time in their lives.”

The barrister in the hearing stated that there had been a lack of ‘vital” reports into the mother’s mental health, saying, “The obvious impact of the pandemic added to Ms Foster’s already anxious state of mind.”

Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society said that “this should never have happened.”

“I can’t imagine the huge relief she and they must be feeling. But clearly, this should never have happened. Prison was never an appropriate place for this woman or an appropriate response to what happened.

“After months and months and months of harm being done to her and to her family, we’ve got to a better place, but it should just never have been necessary for her to go through that in the first place.”

According to the NHS, having an abortion in a clinic or hospital is legal up until 24 weeks in the UK and up to 10 weeks with the ‘pills in the post’ lockdown program. However, there are some circumstances in which a pregnancy can be terminated later than this.

On their website, they state, “They can be carried out after 24 weeks in very limited circumstances – for example, if the mother’s life is at risk or the child would be born with a severe disability.

“Abortions are safer the earlier they’re carried out. Getting advice early on will give you more time to make a decision if you’re unsure.”

(featured image: Guy Smallman/Getty Images)