Pictured: SPUC’s Parliamentary Officer, Maureen Martin, Jim Shannon MP signs our letter.
Several MPs attended a SPUC parliamentary event informing Westminster politicians about the inherent danger of DIY at-home abortion, as permitted by the pills-by-post policy.
Today, 9 January, SPUC hosted an event for MPs at the Houses of Parliament to highlight the dangers of the pills-by-post policy. 14 MPs and their staffers attended the well-received briefing, which was sponsored by DUP MP Carla Lockhart.
SPUC highlighted recent criminal cases that reveal how easy it is under the pills-by-post policy to obtain abortion drugs illegally.
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, aborted at around 34 weeks, over the legal limit. Foster was found guilty and sentenced to jail, though this was later suspended on appeal.
Another case was that of Stuart Worby who caused an illegal abortion by spiking his pregnant girlfriend’s orange juice with crushed abortion pills. The mother’s unborn baby died at 15 weeks’ gestation.
A female accomplice helped Worby obtain the pills from an abortion provider by posing over the phone as a woman seeking an abortion.
The DIY abortion scheme allows women wanting an abortion under 10 weeks to obtain abortion pills from a provider via video consultation with a medic or over the phone. Introduced during lockdown, the scheme was made permanent by MPs in 2022.
SPUC urged MPs at the event to sign a letter calling for a thorough review of the policy, as well as call for an end to DIY abortion.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “The pills-by-post policy, or at-home DIY abortion, has been a disaster for women, exposing them even more to dangerous abortions and prosecutions.
“Government and abortion providers have presided over a conspiracy of silence about the distressing consequences of abortion pills taken at home, including medical complications and severe pain.
“For too long, abortion ideology has been prioritised over women’s safety and well-being. The ease with which abortion drugs can be obtained, sometimes with criminal intent, is shocking. MPs who attended our event today agreed that the government must review this policy that has already caused so much harm.”
