A mother jailed for procuring her own miscarriage. Is that what we want in 21st-century Britain? | Gaby Hinsliff
GuardianJun 13, 2023
On Monday, a 44-year-old mother of three was sentenced to 28 months in prison for medically inducing an abortion approximately 32-34 weeks into her pregnancy.
The woman reportedly received abortion pills under the UK government's "pills by post" program, introduced during the pandemic to allow individuals to have at-home abortions up to 10 weeks of pregnancy following a remote consultation.
This unnecessarily harsh sentence is a damning indictment of archaic abortion laws in England, which are based on criminal sanctions instead of healthcare considerations. Moreover, the judgment attacks women's rights and risks deterring women from lawfully seeking safer and legal recourse within the 24-week limit. The country must overhaul its reproductive justice laws instead of criminalizing women for having an abortion.
Abortion laws in the UK balance a woman's right to access safe and legal abortions with the protection of unborn children. The legal framework reinforces the state's commitment to preserving the sanctity of all life. Since British women are not deprived of their bodily autonomy, it's unfair to argue the laws are discriminatory, especially if the assertion is based on a just ruling against a woman who lied so as to illegally access abortion.
There is a 5% chance that elective abortion will be banned nationally in the United States before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.