Northern Irish woman receives suspended sentence after home abortion

A Northern Irish woman who induced an abortion after buying pills on the Internet has been given a suspended sentence in a case that is believed to be the first of its kind.

The 21-year-old woman pleaded guilty to charges of procuring her own abortion with poison and of supplying poison with intent to induce a miscarriage.

The woman has been given a three-month sentence, suspended for two years.

Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland in nearly all circumstances, unlike the rest of the UK.

The woman, who cannot be named due to a court order, was 19 when she became pregnant. Unable to cover the costs of travelling to England for a termination, she ordered mifepristone and misoprostol pills online, inducing a miscarriage on July 12, 2014.

Her housemates, were “taken back by the seemingly blasé attitude” the woman showed when discussing ordering the drugs. Later they found a foetus and other blood-stained items in a plastic bag outside their home, the Belfast Crown Court were told.

They reported the incident to the police, who confirmed the male foetus belonged to the woman.

Paul Bacon, her barrister, said his client felt “victimised by the system” and had felt “isolated and trapped… with no one to turn to”.

The woman now has a new baby with her partner and is “trying to put her life back together”.

The Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service said the case met the requirements for the woman to be prosecuted: she was accused of unlawfully administering to herself noxious substances with intent to procure a miscarriage and for supplying or procuring a poison.

"In this particular case it was decided, having carefully considered all of the relevant evidence and information, that both elements of the test for prosecution were met,” said the spokesman.

 “A range of factors were relevant to the balancing of the public interest, including the important fact that the law in Northern Ireland makes the conduct in question a serious criminal offence in respect of which a conviction carries the potential of a significant custodial sentence," he added.

The sentencing judge told the court in Belfast on Monday that the legislation was 150 years old. 

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Director, said he was “appalled” by the court’s decision.

“A woman who needs an abortion is not a criminal. The law should not treat her as such.

“This tragic case reveals, yet again, that making abortion illegal does not stop women in Northern Ireland needing or seeking terminations,” he said.

Amnesty added that the pills the woman took “are internationally regarded as a safe and recommended option for terminating a pregnancy in the first trimester”.

The foetus was aged between 10 and 12 weeks when the woman miscarried.

Pro-life campaign group, Precious Life, has called for an appeal against the sentence, alleging it was too lenient.

"Precious Life is very shocked that this judge's sentencing was so manifestly lenient in respect of such a serious crime, and is very concerned that this court judgment could set a very dangerous precedent for similar cases," said the anti-abortion group’s director, Bernadette Smyth.