Jailing a mother of three - WTF

[Capitalismwantsyou]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/12/woman-in-uk-jailed-for-28-months-over-taking-abortion-pills-after-legal-time-limit

Societys interest? Please explain?

WTF!

This is a senseless waste of money. I hope she is home very soon.

I'm not suggesting she had a mental health condition or that she was temporarily impaired or whatever. What I mean is that she was and is clearly deeply distressed about the entire thing from the start till now. Unless you think she chose to do what she did because she was happy and content with her life and just didn't want to be inconvenienced by another child??

I'm not saying that women can't be bad or commit crimes because they simply want to. In this case there were various barriers to her accessing appropriate help, ones to do with covid, ones to do with her state of mind and her home situation and so on. For me, none of that should mean a criminal prosecution, it should mean appropriate help for this woman and changes to how women in difficult situations can access health care in a timely manner.

Especially since the madness is the law itself, not the woman’s decision.

I think most people would agree with having limits to abortion when it's just the mother's choice.

If you allow it all the way, it's no different morally to infanticide, and most people don't want to take the step of endorsing that.

This. I feel for her children and for the baby that she knowingly killed when he could have easily survived.

I am not feeling much sympathy for her tbh.

Oh no what about the menz 😱

Come on. You know why that's completely different.

I agree. 32 weeks fgs.

What about her poor poor dead baby? She lied through the whole thing. Her baby was 32-34 weeks, so completely viable. A line has to be drawn somewhere.
I agree

She killed her baby!

You could make that argument about mothers who are guilty of infanticide as well. And usually there are significant mental health issues, but that doesn't mean the law shouldn't take it seriously.

I agree.

From a legal standpoint there is an equivalence, in that if the life of the baby doesn't count at 34 weeks, it will make no difference who kills it.

You can't have it both ways.

Absolutely disgusting. I support abortion on demand up until birth anyway. Time that women were trusted to make their own decisions about their own bodies. No one is going to take a decision to abort a 34 week gestation foetus easily

@DemiColon I disagree because of the unique circumstance of pregnancy. The unborn baby is wholly within another human being who has full human rights.

I think you're also arguing for the removal of the law about child destruction? Is that right?

Shw didn't kill a baby. She aborted a foetus. Words matter - just like we know what a woman is.

She broke the law knowingly. The details of the case are on another thread in AIBU. It's grim.

I would hope a man would be prosecuted also, wouldnt you?

The details of how its done might not be the same. The intent and outcome is the same. The destruction of the child.

In hindsight I shouldnt have used an example where someone had a breakdown as I cant see that she was mentally ill at the time of the crime.

100% this.

She deserved to be jailed. What she did is illegal (and in my view morally wrong regardless)

I'm so upset about this case. The poor woman. Even if you're against abortion (which I'm not) how can anyone think that taking a mum away from her kids for over 2 years is the right thing to do? It's just awful.

I fully support decriminalisation of abortion.

Abortion isn't legal at 28 weeks @gogohmm. The legal limit is 24 weeks. So she knew both that she was lying and also that she was significantly over the legal limit and also over the stage at which a baby born can survive independently. If she'd not taken the pills and waited a few more weeks the baby could have been born, given up for adoption (if she wanted) and lived. I'm pro choice for early term abortions but saying that the unborn baby "isn't a human" because it's not yet recognised as such in law seems to me to be missing the point that it's a person capable of life, just a few weeks shy of birth.

Agree that the sentencing does seem harsh but from the article in the BBC it sounds as if you judge was cross that she didn't plead guilty until the 11th hour - says she might have had suspended sentence otherwise. I'd have thought a suspended sentence more appropriate in these circumstances as she's no danger to anyone (unless she gets pregnant again I guess)

I feel sick. Its so awful on all fronts. I'm mostly angry at those in the nhs who made getting abortion pills so damn easy. She must have been desperate and mentally ill to lie about this, and once she saw the consequences- her own dead child, I can't see how she can cling on to sanity. I think she's been failed by the health care system then failed by the legal system. And her poor dc are being subjected to this ordeal. Who know what it does to their life chances.

Whoever thought making abortion this easy to access was a good idea should be jailed. This scenario is very easy to forsee. That's the problem in this country. Not only are our institutions rotten, lazy and motivated by the financial not the human cost but also there's no accountability.

She'd have got less jail time if she were male if she'd run someone over with her car. Meanwhile rapists go free. Go figure.

You think the judge was cross and that was why they didn't suspend the sentence?

I totally agree with the sentence, what she did is appalling

That's what the BBC article implies yes https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-65882169