Woman jailed for illegally obtaining abortion tablets to be released from prison after sentence cut

A woman jailed for illegally obtaining abortion tablets to end her pregnancy during lockdown will be released from prison after the Court of Appeal reduced her sentence.

Carla Foster, 45, was originally handed a 28-month sentence in June.

But on Tuesday, three judges said this would be reduced to a 14-month suspended sentence. She will also have to complete up to 50 days of activity.

“This is a very sad case … It is a case that calls for compassion, not punishment, and where no useful purpose is served by detaining Ms Foster in custody,” Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Lord Justice Holroyde and Mrs Justice Lambert, said.

Foster appeared at the hearing via video link from Foston Hall Prison – where she has spent 35 days – wearing glasses and a dark blue top with flowers on the shoulders.

The mother of three had admitted illegally procuring her own abortion when she was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant during the COVID pandemic.

The termination was eight to 10 weeks later than the 24-week legal period for having an abortion in England, Scotland and Wales.

At the sentencing, the court heard she was sent the drugs by charity the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) after she called them during lockdown and lied about how far along in her pregnancy she was.

Following the Court of Appeal ruling, Labour MP Stella Creasy said: “The relief that this woman can go home to be with her children is tempered by the knowledge there are more cases to come where women in England being prosecuted and investigated for having abortions under this archaic legislation.

“That’s why we need decrim now.”

The case has galvanised the pro-abortion movement.

Last month, thousands of abortion rights activists marched from the Royal Courts of Justice to Whitehall, demanding an end to the criminalisation of abortion, following Foster’s sentencing.

Clare Murphy, chief executive of the BPAS, said on Tuesday that she “echoes the judges’ statements”.

She said the court had “recognised that this cruel, antiquated law does not reflect the values of society today” and urged parliament to decriminalise abortion as a “matter of urgency”.

Chiara Capraro, Amnesty International UK’s women’s rights director, added that abortion is “essential healthcare” and called Foster’s treatment “deeply disturbing”.

During the appeal, barrister Barry White, representing Foster, said there was a lack of “vital” reports into her mental health at the time of the offence and that “the obvious impact of the pandemic added to Ms Foster’s already anxious state of mind”.

The court heard that Foster was refused any form of communication with her three children, one of whom is autistic, while in prison.