Two days ago a woman, Carla Foster, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for the crime of inducing her own abortion. The case is a complex one — Foster was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant when she took her anti abortion pill — but the key fact is that current legislation in this country is not fit for purpose. It is primitive and punitive. That could be seen in the sentencing of a mother of three who obviously needed psychological support, not prison. Calls from doctors and women’s rights organisations asking the judge not to imprison the woman fell on deaf ears. Today more and more women are waking up to the false sense of security we have had when it comes to our rights and access to an abortion in UK.
As an activist I have known for years that it was time for the UK to update its archaic abortion laws and provide women with the care and support they need, rather than punishing them for making difficult decisions. But having worked with MPs and Ministers from both sides of the House I also knew how dangerous it was to open up the abortion debate. I thought maybe it was best to protect what we had.
