Carla Foster being released

[JustMint]

Court of appeal have reduced her sentence!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-65581850

I hope at some point this will also spark discussion about how much women were utterly failed during the lockdowns. Maternity and abortion services were incredibly difficult to access in some areas and mental health services basically impossible.

There should never have been the situation where women were sent pills in the post and offered no checks, no support and basically left to get on with it. One consultation with someone would have prevented this whole situation.

Well said

It's not being used as an excuse in this case. It was the reason she obtained a tele-medical abortion.

I can't agree with a criminal conviction for taking action against the development of a foetus inside your body. Rationally I can accept the argument that abortion shouldn't be allowed once it's viable, but emotionally I can't accept the idea that you could have a baby growing inside your own body and not be allowed to stop that, regardless of how far along the pregnancy is. Thinking both rationally and emotionally, for the sake of her other children, the right decision was made in this case to reduce her sentence.

100% this. I was pregnant during the whole of the first lockdown. I had to fight to get any sort of prenatal care. My trust cancelled everything they could including gestational diabetes tests and routine midwife visits. I had to buy my own blood pressure monitor and pee tests to check my own urine. I didn’t get my results from the 12 week screening for DS/Edwards/Pataus until gone 20 weeks. I wasn’t told I was positive for group strep B until in active labour which then resulted in me being very ill. It was a different time and a terrifying one if you were pregnant. The NHS just put up a wall.

I am pro choice absolutely but wasn't there a case recently where a 15 year old gave birth and killed her baby and got 11 years or something. I appreciate that was worse as it was very violent and how anyone can do that is beyond con but she was a vulnerable child and this is not that different

She will be serving a life sentence in her own head - and won't be able to live the same life again - prison was not the correct place for her - sure she suffered in there.

Not asking to be inflammatory just curious, but her search history showed she searched abortions well within the timeline, so why didn't she pursue it then? Or is it known if she did and it was delayed or if she waited past the time limit and then decieved professionals?
Minor maybe but I think it makes a difference to the intent and malice.

I don’t think I’d be alone in saying this case changed my mind from considering myself pro choice. You shouldn’t be able to kill a viable life with no consequences even if that life is inside you at the time.

I honestly don’t know the answer but delaying it made it much worse on herself as well as the foetus so I assume there is a reason.

Appalling. She should be made to serve her sentence

She should stay in jail for a long time. She murdered a viable baby.

@CamelHairCardy - I’m confused as to why one extreme case that has been prosecuted has stopped you being pro choice?

This. A million times over.

The 15 year old girl shouldn’t have had that sentence.

So because one woman broke the law you're notlw anti-choice? For everyone?

That’s what happened during lockdown.

No scans. No follow ups. No face-to-face at all.

I had an abortion during lockdown and not only did I not see a single person face-to-face, but it took making 14 calls and repeatedly chasing to have the pills sent out. Luckily I was mentally well and had lots of support so could deal with that.

The lack of care for pregnant women in lockdown was horrific.

I'd have to agree with them tbh. I have always consider myself hugely pro choice but this has clearly shown me that my beliefs come with caveats, so I suppose I'm not completely pro choice anymore. I just can't reconcile the idea that someone should be able to abort an otherwise healthy viable baby that would survive, purely out of a change of heart or choice right up until birth. I understand there will always be circumstances and situations but I guess I just don't think people should be able to change their minds that late.

Because I didn’t think that women would deliberately game the system to carry out abortions on themselves and then lie to paramedics trying to revive the baby. I thought a late term abortion would be carried out in clinics or hospital with doctors ensuring the baby suffered as little harm as possible. I didn’t think women were seeking abortions post 24 weeks because they’d changed their mind about having it.

what really did it though was seeing how many people are ok with aborting a full term baby (in theory, this one wasn’t full term) because it’s the mothers right to choose.

Maybe I was never pro choice, just naive

The Court of Appeal was told the prison in which Foster has spent 35 days has refused to allow her any form of communication with her three children, one of whom is autistic.

This is also appalling.

Quite. The morality seems to be "it's a human being if I decide it is and it is convenient to me at the time".

I don't agree with what she did but I think to do it, she must have been desperate.

Prison isn't the answer though.

I am keeping in my mind she is still convicted.

I was pregnant during lockdown and sadly we lost the baby, it took a week to get a scan and was horrendous.

Ive had a previous history with an ectopic pregnancy and this was a very much wanted baby but I do think there were not many options open to women during lockdown.

If anyone thinks women’s health care was not more affected than men’s in lockdown they are nuts.

Also prison communication with children has been a known issue for a very long time.

and there is a lot of research into the impacts of kids (lifelong) of having a mother in prison.

i don't agree.

Her case is very unusual. And if it isn't it would be normal for each woman to be treated as an individual.

This case has zip to do with abortion and all to do with a vulnerable woman in a difficult position in a possibly abusive relationship. It is a perfect storm of awful events.

It should have absolutely no bearing on any current abortion laws at all.