Mother-of-three, 44, who lied about her pregnancy term to get abortion drugs is jailed for two years and four months
- Carla Foster was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant when she received the pills
- She got them under ‘pills by post’ scheme, introduced during Covid pandemic
A mother who illegally procured her own abortion was jailed yesterday despite a plea for leniency from medical bodies and charities.
Carla Foster, 44, lied about how advanced her pregnancy was in order to obtain abortion-causing drugs.
She was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant when she received the medication from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service under the ‘pills by post’ scheme, which was introduced during the Covid pandemic.
The scheme allows medication to be supplied after a remote consultation for pregnancies of up to ten weeks.
Foster, a mother of three was jailed for two years and four months at Stoke Crown Court yesterday.
Carla Foster, 44, lied about how advanced her pregnancy was in order to obtain abortion-causing drugs
The court heard that Foster had been having sex with two men and did not know which was the father when she became pregnant
Medical professionals, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the President of the Faculty of Public Health and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence put their names to a letter asking the judge to show leniency.
They argued that jailing her would deter other women from accessing their services, or from being open with doctors.
The court heard that Foster had been having sex with two men and did not know which was the father when she became pregnant.
She carried out internet searches from February 2020 onwards that included ‘How to lose a baby at six months’. In April she searched for ‘I need to have an abortion but I’m past 24 weeks’.
The mother of three was jailed for two years and four months at Stoke Crown Court (file image)
She spoke to a nurse practitioner at BPAS on May 6, 2020 leading the nurse to believe that she was around seven weeks pregnant. Her child, a girl, was born, not breathing, on May 11, 2020.
A post mortem examination recorded cause of death as stillbirth and maternal use of abortion drugs. Foster eventually admitted a charge under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 of administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion.
Mr Justice Pepperall criticised the medical bodies for writing to the court, saying it could be seen as ‘special pleading by those who favour wider access to abortion’.
BPAS said it was ‘shocked and appalled’ by the decision to jail Foster.
