9 January 2024
Following the offering of no evidence by the prosecution in the case of a young woman in Teesside charged with ending her pregnancy, Rachael Clarke, Chief of Staff at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), said:
“We welcome the withdrawal of charges against a young woman in Teesside, and are delighted that this case will not proceed to an unnecessary and gruelling trial. We hope that she can now begin to move on from this lengthy and no doubt emotional ordeal.
“However this case should never have got to this point. Six women have appeared in court over the last 12 months for ending their pregnancies under a cruel, outdated law that passed before women had the right to vote. Two women are already scheduled to be put on trial in 2024.
“As it stands, England & Wales have the most severe punishment for an illegal abortion in the world – up to life imprisonment. This is worse than countries and states with severe anti-abortion laws such as Texas, Afghanistan, and South Sudan. We are on the wrong side of history.
“We are proud to be working with Dame Diana Johnson MP on an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill which would remove women from the criminal law related to abortion, ensuring they can receive the care they desperately need. We are calling on MPs to do the right thing and support the amendment.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact Georgina O’Reilly, BPAS Associate Director of Campaigns and Communications (maternity cover), on georgina.oreilly@bpas.org or 07384 891886.
About BPAS
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, is a charity that sees over 100,000 women a year for reproductive healthcare services including pregnancy counselling, abortion care, miscarriage management and contraception at clinics across Great Britain.
BPAS exists to further women’s reproductive choices. We believe all women should have the right to make their own decisions in and around pregnancy, from the contraception they use to avoid pregnancy right the way through to how they decide to feed their newborn baby, with access to evidence-based information to underpin their choices and high-quality services and support to exercise them.
BPAS also runs the Centre for Reproductive Research and Communication, CRRC. Through rigorous multidisciplinary research and impactful communication, the CRRC aims to inform policy, practice, and public discourse. You can find out more here.