Woman Cleared in Abortion Trial as MPs Push for Law Reform

Labour MPs have proposed changes to the Crime and Policing Bill that would decriminalise abortion for women.

Nicola Packer in an undated handout photo. Handout/PA

The recent acquittal of Nicola Packer, a 45-year-old woman prosecuted for inducing an abortion beyond the legal limit, comes as MPs push to reform UK abortion laws.

Packer, who took abortion pills during the COVID-19 lockdown believing she was within the permitted gestational period, was found not guilty by a jury at Isleworth Crown Court on May 8.

The legal limit for taking medication at home to terminate a pregnancy is 10 weeks, while the outer limit for abortions in England, Scotland, and Wales is 24 weeks, apart from in certain circumstances.

Packer maintained she was unaware of her true gestation, which was approximately 26 weeks. The trial heard she took prescribed abortion medicine at home in November 2020 and later brought the foetus to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in a backpack.

The telemedicine abortion, also known as the “pills by post” policy, was introduced during the pandemic and made permanent in England and Wales in 2022.

It allows women in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy to receive abortion medication at home after a remote consultation.

Supporters argue it increases access, especially for women facing domestic abuse or from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Critics, including the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), suggest the policy is “dangerous.”

The pro-life organisation has argued the policy enables abusers to coerce women into abortions and allows women to misrepresent their gestation timelines over the phone.

Proposed Changes

Abortion complications become more likely as pregnancy progresses, no matter the method used.

A government review in England from 2017 to 2021 found there were 0.4 complications per 1,000 abortions at two to nine weeks, rising to 23.8 per 1,000 at 20 weeks or later.

Right to Life UK campaigners have warned that changes to the abortion law could put more women at risk.

Commenting on the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, recently tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, the charity said it would lead to more late-term abortions at home.

The amendment seeks to remove women from criminal law related to abortion. It means that women acting in relation to their own pregnancies would no longer face arrest, prosecution, or imprisonment, regardless of gestation.

“The proposed change to the law would also lead to an increased number of viable babies’ lives being ended well beyond the 24-week abortion time limit and beyond the point at which they would be able to survive outside the womb,” said Right to Life UK.

It noted that the amendment does not outline circumstances in which it would continue to be an offence for a woman to perform her own abortion, highlighting the case of Carla Foster.

In 2020, Foster aborted her child at 34 weeks with illegally-obtained abortion pills. She was jailed in 2023 after the court found she lied to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service—a leading abortion provider—about how far along in her pregnancy she was.

Foster was sentenced to jail, though she was later suspended on appeal.

Despite the criticism, Antoniazzi said that her proposal was “a simple amendment that looks after women,” adding that “no woman should be criminalised for seeking medical help in the most desperate of circumstances.”

Representatives from the whole pro-life movement and their supporters gather to demonstrate in Parliament Square in London on May 15, 2024. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

‘Full Decriminalisation’

A separate amendment, tabled by Labour MP Stella Creasy, goes further by proposing that criminal sanctions be removed entirely, even retroactively.

It would extend legal safeguards to medical professionals who assist women with consent, provided the pregnancy is under 24 weeks. It also introduces an additional layer of protection by requiring that any prosecution—whether of a woman or a doctor—must first be personally approved by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Criticising the proposals, SPUC warned they would effectively allow abortion up to birth and make it difficult to prosecute abusive partners.

“This would in effect mean full decriminalisation of abortion, up to birth, for any reason … including the sex of the baby,” it said.

The government has said any changes to abortion laws are “a matter of conscience for parliamentarians.”

“All women have access to safe and legal abortions on the NHS,” a government spokesperson said, adding that decisions to prosecute are for the Crown Prosecution Service and are “incredibly rare.”

Abortion Law

Abortion is still technically a criminal offence under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929.

But under the Abortion Act 1967, there are exceptions that legalise it under specific circumstances, including sign-off by two doctors.

This framework applies in England, Scotland, and Wales, but not in Northern Ireland, where abortion is legal in the early stages of pregnancy (up to 12 weeks) without needing to give a reason.

A change to the law is being supported by professional bodies including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Nursing, and the Royal College of General Practitioners.

In a recent joint statement, they reported that six women have faced charges in the last year alone, and abortion providers have reported around 50 police requests for women’s medical records in recent years.

The groups called for women to no longer be prosecuted under the 1861 and 1929 acts for ending their own pregnancies, bringing the law in England and Wales in line with Northern Ireland.

Public Opinion

Public opinion polling by YouGov in 2023 shows that while 65 percent of Britons support abortion on request before 24 weeks, only 17 percent back it without restriction after that.

Overall, 74 percent support enshrining abortion rights in law, though opinion is evenly split on keeping the pills-by-post policy.

Support is much lower for further loosening abortion rules, such as allowing abortion pills to be sold over the counter without a prescription.

Just 33 percent of people back the idea, while 53 percent are opposed. Opposition is consistent among both men and women across all age groups.

PA Media contributed to this report.