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.

In the six years since this “pills by post” policy has been in place, evidence of the risk it poses to women, and the difficulties of regulating it, has been mounting.

The consequences of the policy were drawn to public attention when Carla Foster, a mother from Staffordshire, was sentenced to imprisonment after it was found that she lied to abortion provider BPAS to obtain abortion drugs well past the legal limit for abortion. Her daughter Lily was born dead at 32-34 weeks’ gestation;

We have seen how this policy allows the horrific abuse of women and babies. In December 2024, Norfolk man Stuart Worby was jailed for 12 years for giving his pregnant partner abortion pills (obtained by another woman using the policy) resulting in the death of her 15 week old baby.

Since Parliament approved an amendment to decriminalise self-induced abortion up to birth, the danger of pills by post is now greater than ever. There is now no law preventing women self-inducing her own abortion at any gestation, and there is a way for them to obtain the drugs to do so – the pills by post system. Now that the legal deterrent has been removed, we are bound to see more cases of women or abusive men obtaining the pills by deception to use later in pregnancy.

It is more urgent than ever that this scheme be ended. We are lobbying politicians to call for a review of the policy – see how you can help below.

Take Action

Write to your MP

Please use our tool to contact your MP, asking them to call for a review of the pills-by-post policy.

The tool has some template text, linking to a briefing for MPs, but please add your own thoughts and concerns about the pills-by-post policy. You can use our briefing, and this case study of the Worby case.