A British man who was found guilty of illegally drugging his girlfriend with abortion pills, causing the death of her unborn child, has had his jail sentence increased by five years after his initial term was deemed too lenient.
Stuart Worby, 40, has had his jail sentence increased by five years following his case’s referral to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General. He had initially been sentenced to 12 years at Norwich Crown Court.
Last year, Mr Worby was found guilty of obtaining abortion drugs unlawfully and using them to bring about an abortion that a woman didn’t want.
Mr Worby conspired with his friend Wayne Finney to obtain the drugs. Mr Finney’s partner, Nueza Cepeda, had a telemedicine consultation with an abortion provider under the false pretence that she was pregnant.
The drugs were later administered surreptitiously by Mr Worby to his pregnant girlfriend, and her unborn baby subsequently died. “It’s working, she’s bleeding”, Mr Worby texted Mr Finney. Mr Worby refused to take his girlfriend to hospital for four hours.
The unborn baby died the next day, and the mother is now unable to have children. “The only baby that I could have had was the one I lost”, the victim mother told the Court.
Commenting on the extended sentence, Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP said: “I was disgusted by this offender’s appalling crimes and I welcome the court’s decision to increase his sentence following my referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentences scheme.
“This is a stark warning to those who commit violent acts against women – you will face very serious consequences.”
In January, SPUC highlighted the dangers of the pills-by-post policy, also known as DIY abortion, at a parliamentary event in Westminster. MPs heard about recent criminal cases revealing how easy it is to obtain abortion drugs illegally through the scheme – including the Worby case.
The most high-profile case was that of Carla Foster who lied to an abortion provider over the phone about the age of her unborn child, who was aborted at around 34 weeks (over the legal limit). Foster was found guilty and sentenced to jail, though she was later suspended on appeal.
SPUC also continues to warn about the reality of abortion coercion, which as many as 15 per cent of British women say they have experienced in some form. The shocking finding was reported in a 2022 poll commissioned by the BBC.
A 2023 study found that abortion coercion or pressure inflicts deep emotional harm on women, from pressure from a partner or family member to financial burdens:
“Perceived pressure to abort was significantly associated with more negative emotions… Overall, 61% [of respondents with a history of abortion] reported high levels of pressure on at least one scale.”
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