London, 18th July 2023
A woman who was sentenced in June for ending her own pregnancy will be released from prison after the Court of Appeal reduced her sentence today.
On 12th June 2023, in a rare and distressing case, a woman was sentenced for ending her own pregnancy outside the parameters of the Abortion Act 1967. The Act makes abortion legal under certain specific circumstances. As part of the original sentence, she was told she would serve half of her 28-month term in custody.
Today, the Court of Appeal has reduced her sentence to 14 months and ruled it should be suspended, meaning that she will be released from prison as the judge described her case as one which ‘calls for compassion, not punishment’.
Louise McCudden, UK Head of External Affairs at MSI Reproductive Choices, commented:
“The Court of Appeal was right to recognise that this distressing case should have been treated with compassion and not punishment.
It is not in the public interest to send someone to prison for ending their own pregnancy.”
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