Stop poisonous pills-by-post scheme!

In December, Norfolk man Stuart Worby was sentenced to 12 years in prison for using abortion pills to poison his pregnant girlfriend, causing the death of her baby at 15 weeks gestation. He crushed mifepristone into her drink and later administered misoprostol during a sexual assault. This caused her to miscarry.

This horrifying act was made possible through the "pills by post" scheme. Measures allowing women to self-induce medical abortions at home, without meeting with a medical professional in person, were first approved at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. It was clear from the beginning that this policy, pushed by abortion providers, would have terrible consequences.

This is the first prosecution of the kind, but the failures of the pills by post-policy have been stacking up in the nearly five years it has been in place.

There is abundant evidence of women taking pills they are sent in the post past this limit and even, in particularly shocking and tragic cases, at the 24-week legal limit and beyond. It can be difficult for many women to estimate their gestation accurately; therefore, in many cases, pills are used beyond legal limits. Without ultrasounds for gestational age checks, the risk of late-term abortion rises. This not only increases the risk of medical complications but also intensifies the trauma for women using these pills.

DIY abortions massively increase the risks of medical complications. Around 6% of DIY abortions lead to issues needing surgical intervention for retained tissue, infections, excessive bleeding or other injuries. Each day, 14 women are hospitalized due to DIY abortion complications.

And there have been other examples of people obtaining the pills through deception to use on someone else. Georgia Day was given a suspended sentence after lying to a BPAS operative to obtain abortion pills for her lover, who wanted to trick his pregnant girlfriend into taking them.

Coercion and abuse are not isolated incidents. A major BBC-commissioned poll on reproductive coercion found that 15% of women aged 18-44 in the UK had experienced pressure to terminate a pregnancy. 5% had experienced physical violence with the intention to force a miscarriage. Significantly, and shockingly, 3% of women had been given something (tablets/substances) to cause an abortion without their knowledge or consent.

If this system continues, women will continue to face unnecessary emotional trauma, medical complications, and coercion. Continuing without safeguards will normalise unsafe practices, devalue life, and perpetuate harm.

That is why we are calling on the Health Secretary to commission an urgent review into this failed policy. Any impartial review of the evidence would show that this policy is dangerous for women and poses unacceptable risks.

DIY abortion removes vital protections, letting abusers coerce women into unwanted abortions.

Join us in calling on the Health Secretary to review this policy and bring it to an end.

--------

More information:

• BBC survey on reproductive coercion [BBC]: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-60646285


• Case of Stuart Worby [BBC]: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9wrpje9le1o


• NHS data on DIY abortion complications [NHS]: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/abortion-statistics-for-england-and-wales-january-to-june-2022