Woman prosecuted for illegally aborting her baby at 34 weeks pregnant

[Endlessdark]

What are your thoughts of this? My heart breaks for the poor baby. There was so much time to do it earlier if she wanted to. ☹️ obviously don’t know her reasoning behind it so I’m interested to hear others thoughts! It’s said she claimed to only be 7 weeks pregnant and as it was during covid, she was sent abortion pills in the post.

https://apple.news/AEftuMVmFQ2quaiDb-lN78Q

what do you think, is it right that she was prosecuted or do you think there needs to be a reform of this law?

People banging on about mental health. You know that's not a get out clause right? I have multiple mental health issues but I've never used it to abuse my husband or any member of my family, let alone murdering a tiny baby

I am absolutely pro choice but my 11 year old daughter who is in the same room as me was born at 28+5, she was a perfect fully formed baby weighing in at 3lb 13oz with no health problem's.

I am not sure what that lady did should get classed as abortion.

The other thread was breath taking. Posters saying whilst the foetus was dependent on the mother's body it had no right to life at any point. Many also suggested better to abort, even towards the end of the pregnancy, than have an unwanted child who would likely enter the system and have bad outcomes. I was appalled. Horrific that some women think a 33 week old 'foetus' (baby) is better off dead than being birthed, adopted and given their chance at life. But apparently they are just foetuses, not cognisant, entirely dependent and therefore have no rights.

She also had two psychiatric assessments and while they found emotional stress, they found no mental illness.

I'm pro choice and have generally held the view 'as early as possible and as late as necessary' on the grounds that late term abortions are such a tiny tiny percentage that by late pregnancy it's usually some very unwanted and upsetting medical news that leads to abortions.

If I'm honest this case has really tested my views because as this poster said:

This is not a case of a woman who has some horrendous situation where for her own health, the baby's health, rape, etc has found herself in a desperately awful position and has got appropriate healthcare and gone about it in a way that was safe and humane for the baby. It is someone who has shagged someone other than her partner, got back with the partner and now doesn't want the baby incase it isn't his, lies about it, spends months researching ways to do it, then takes tablets knowing the outcome is that it will cause the death of an otherwise healthy, viable baby. I can't be ok with that.

This isn't about access to safe reproductive healthcare and the termination of a pregnancy in as humane way as possible.

This is spending months researching ways to destroy a baby just in case someone gets back with their partner. I can't fathom how someone would decide whether to let a baby live or die when it's a viable human based on who they happen to be shagging now.

recently a young woman got jail time for murdering her baby after birth (she gave birth when she was a teenager). Where was the outcry then.
for me the key difference here is that this woman was more calculating and spent more time planning how to get rid of a viable baby.
i am 100% pro choice but this is not an abortion issue.

I am pro choice but I know the difference between abortion and murder. She should have got a life sentence.

I fully think she’s in the right place. there’s a limit to termination for a reason and she lied knowing this to make sure she did it. She would’ve felt her baby move she would’ve done it all and it didn’t once register. She could have terminated earlier on or adopted that child to a family that would’ve loved it.

I am also usually very firm in the pro choice camp. I even voted for it (Ireland)

This to me seems like murder. If she had spontaneously gone into labour that baby would have lived. It is actually awful what she did. I'm sure some pro lifer will say what's the difference between 4 weeks and 34 there is a huge difference imo.

34 weeks?! I thought she was only a bit late than what is legal. That is a proper baby! Some women give birth weeks before that. That poor baby 😢

What I also find shocking is that if she had managed to give birth and the baby was alive then what? And what was she planning to do with the baby if born dead? Did she not think of the effects on her other children?
I'm shocked that she didn't seem to take the morning after pill if she was concerned about contraceptive failure, neither did she seek a termination earlier in the pregnancy, the whole thing baffles me. I can only conclude that she was trying to pretend.
On the whole, she broke the law. And she lied about the circumstances several times.

I am pro choice and think she should be in a mental health facility instead of prison.

As someone who was and has had a pre-30week baby, it’s actually disgusting to think someone was so “embarrassed” by their infidelity that they had to kill their child. It was calculating , selfish and horrific.

Also had she gone preterm what the actual fuck would she have done then????

I don't really understand how people who are pro-choice can support this woman.

I am extremely pro-choice, and generally agree with the "as early as possible, as late as necessary" opinion. That doesn't mean I agree with taking medication that is used for ending much earlier pregnancies, and doing an at home abortion without any medical care.

I worry that this case will be used to stop pills being posted to women for abortions, and that would restrict abortion access for some women who are not able to attend a clinic.

Put it down the toilet or tried to kill it some other way. Yes she needs help but doesn’t make it ok.

My twin daughters were born only 1 week more than the 37 weeks happy and healthy it sickens me what she did at that point in a pregnancy

@Babyboomtastic
Obviously wasn't aware.
Not sure the attitude was necessary really.

Yes that's my thoughts too.

I’m pro choice.
But she knew she was pregnant, she knew she didn’t want it (going by internet searches) she then lied to obtain the meds.
Would surgical abortion have been an option at such a late stage, in those circumstances ? (I don’t know). She had plenty of time to look at other options.
Why on earth she chose to leave it so late I don’t know. Awful for the baby, awful for her and awful for her other children. It was a poor choice.

100% where she belongs.

Would surgical abortion have been an option at such a late stage, in those circumstances ? (I don’t know).

No. Abortions after 24 weeks in this country are very rare, and most of them are quite close to 24 weeks. An abortion at 32 weeks is extremely extremely rare and would not be done with a healthy baby and mother. She knew she was pregnant earlier - very late term abortions are not for people who change their minds or delay, they are done for serious health concerns.

That would mean that we'd be no better than the aggressive, entitled men so many women have to put up with and keep complaining about. We should all be striving for better behaviour and higher personal moral standards. We're not cavemen or animals.

This woman has made some terrible choices. Had she no one to confide in? The victim is the baby and I partly blame lockdown.

She knew she was pg. she googled how to hide a bump and how to induce miscarriage at 6 months. The fact she knew and still waited until 34 weeks - sorry she's in the right place . 4 more weeks and it oils have been infanticide.

She could have done this legally . She made a choice . A cruel one. And then lied . She deserves everything she gets .