A jury has found a woman not guilty of having an unlawful abortion.
After being found not guilty of “unlawfully administering to herself a poison or other noxious thing” with the “intent to procure a miscarriage,” 45-year-old Nicola Packer sobbed.
When she was around 26 weeks pregnant in November 2020, during a coronavirus lockdown, she used abortion medication at home, according to the Isleworth Crown Court. After giving birth, Ms. Packer carried the infant in a bag to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital the following day.
Except in specific situations, the outer limit for abortions in England, Scotland, and Wales is 24 weeks, whereas the legal limit for taking drugs at home to end a pregnancy is 10 weeks.
