The Guardian, asking about what might be causing the recent increase in prosecution cases being brought against women suspected of an illegal abortion, says “it’s fair to say no one really knows for sure why…” and then in the very next part of the same sentence says, “the increased use of pills obtained to do abortions at home during the pandemic has perhaps brought a level of awareness to the potential of illegal abortions happening”
That’s it, it is as simple as that. In the 20 years up to 2021, just three women were prosecuted, increasing to six in 2022. Of course, these are still very small numbers, equivalent to as few as 1-in-20,000 of women using the abortion pills. The reason for the increase in 2022…telemedicine abortion and pills-by-post.
Prior to the March 2020 covid-related emergency approval of pills-by-post, all women wanting an abortion needed to first have an in-person medical consultation, an effective measure to ensure the legal prescribing and use of the abortion pills. Now, that protocol has been removed, meaning that the abortion provider has no way of ensuring that the pills they prescribe will be used as intended and below the legal limit of 10-weeks gestational age.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists answer to the perceived problem of increasing numbers of women being prosecuted, is to instruct NHS medics to take a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” approach, do NOT report a suspected illegal abortion to the police.
This is the wrong answer. The correct answer would be to rescind the telemedicine and pills-by-post approval; revert to an in-person medical consultation and only prescribe the abortion pills when sure of a woman’s gestational age and her suitability for the procedure.
The RCOG guidance, “Involvement of the Police and External Agencies following Abortion, Pregnancy Loss and Unexpected Delivery”, was published on 25 January 2024; the PDF is here.
On a related note, The Guardian is correct when it refers to Dr Jonathan Lord as either the co-chair of the RCOG abortion taskforce or co-chair of the British Society of Abortion Care Providers, however his primary role is as the Medical Director at MSI Reproductive Choices, and so when it comes to lobbying for the decriminalisation of abortion, Lord has a significant interest in making it so, as part of his day-job directing one of the UK’s largest independent abortion providers. Why not say so?
Percuity 