A mother of three has been jailed for more than two years for inducing an abortion after the legal limit.
Carla Foster, 44, received the medication following a remote consultation where she was not honest about how far along her pregnancy was.
The “pills by post” scheme, introduced in lockdown, allows pregnancies up to 10 weeks to be terminated at home.
However, Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the woman was between 32-34 weeks pregnant when she took them.
Abortion is legal up to 24 weeks. However, after 10 weeks the procedure is carried out in a clinic.
Prosecutors argued Foster had provided false information knowing she was over the time limit and had made online searches which they said indicated “careful planning”.
The court heard between February and May 2020 she had searched “how to hide a pregnancy bump”, “how to have an abortion without going to the doctor” and “how to lose a baby at six months”.
Based on the information she provided the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), she was sent the tablets because it was estimated she was seven weeks pregnant.
source bbc.com
