Woman faces trial after allegedly being prescribed NHS abortion pills by post
A woman has claimed she is facing trial after undergoing an NHS-prescribed abortion. (Stock Image/Getty)
A woman is facing trial in the UK after allegedly being prescribed NHS abortion “pills by post”.
Warning: Discussions of pregnancy loss and termination.
Katie, who is using a pseudonym for legal reasons, has alleged that she was prescribed abortion pills over the phone via an NHS member of staff during lockdown. She was allegedly prescribed the medication, mifepristone and misoprostol, under the legal “pills by post” scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Katie claimed that she had no way of knowing she was further along than six weeks gestation and was sent abortion medication by post. “My body showed no symptoms, so I had no way of knowing I was far more pregnant than just six weeks,” she alleged via CrowdJustice.
Katie alleged that she “gave birth to a dead baby, alone in my bathroom”, and was charged with procuring poison to induce a miscarriage. Due to the trial, she is unable to say how far along her pregnancy was.
Taking to the fundraising platform, Katie claimed: “During lockdown, I took a pregnancy test as a precaution. I’d been told that having children would likely be impossible for me because of an endometriosis diagnosis, along with previous surgeries on my cervix. I didn’t expect it to be positive but I wanted to make sure.
“It was positive and I was surprised, but immediately knew that I wanted an abortion. I love children but never wanted any of my own. Since I’d had sex a few weeks prior to the test and had no symptoms of pregnancy, I concluded that I must be under 10 weeks pregnant and I obtained an abortion from an NHS provider,” she alleged.
After 12 hours of taking the medication, Katie claimed that she was horrified to “realise I was much further along in my pregnancy than I could possibly have known”.
She added: “I have no words to describe what I went through – nothing can prepare you for what it’s like to have an abortion go terribly wrong like that or the journey to the hospital.”
She claimed that doctors rushed her into surgery to remove the placenta, the treatment of which saved her life. Despite being told she would be able to return home the next day, she claimed that a midwife called the police.
She claimed that two police officers sat in her room as she was recovering from the procedure, and was forced to keep the door open when she used the toilet. “It was like a nightmare. I was suffering from trauma and felt so violated,” she said.
After being charged, Katie has been waiting for three years to hear news of a trial date. She is now set to go to trial later in the year.
She claimed that she has spent £50,000 in legal fees so far, and needs to raise £100,000 more to fund the trial. Katie has also launched the campaign #notacrime to call for legal reform for abortions.
If this story has affected you, you can contact BPAS on 03457 30 40 30 7 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday, 8 am to 4 pm on Saturdays and 9.30 am to 2.30 pm on Sundays. You can donate to Katie’s CrowdJustice fund here.
