‘I felt like a criminal’: Record number of women facing illegal abortion investigations
Sarah’s front room is filled with pictures of her smiling baby. He’s now 18 months old. But for almost a year, she was investigated on suspicion of illegally trying to abort him.
In January 2023, Sarah (not her real name) had just delivered her baby prematurely. She called 999 but before paramedics turned up, police came knocking at her door.
“The front room was just full of police,” Sarah tells Sky News. “I felt like a criminal.”
Her pregnancy was unplanned and she had considered a termination. She went to an abortion clinic but was told she was three days over the legal limit of 24 weeks.
“I wasn’t expecting to be that far gone,” she says. “I was hardly showing. It was a massive shock.”
When she got home, she panicked and started searching adoption, and adoption to friends and family, online. She even put abortion pills in her online shopping basket – but never bought them.
After a few days, Sarah came to terms with the pregnancy. But on the Monday morning, she wasn’t feeling very well and called in sick to work.
“Throughout the day, I’d had back pain and wasn’t getting any better,” she says. “And then at about seven in the evening, eight maybe, I went upstairs to the toilet… and he was here.
“I rang my husband who was downstairs to say ‘I think I’ve just had a baby’.”
He was born at 25 weeks, almost three months premature. He wasn’t breathing. His parents wrapped him in a towel and took him downstairs.
“He was blue in colour, there was no movement. It was horrible,” Sarah says.
Sarah (right) told Sky News she’s still traumatised by the year-long investigation
When her husband rang 999, the paramedics gave CPR instructions on the phone. But before they arrived, the police came.
It was the start of an investigation that would last a year.
The police force involved said it “attended to assist medical professionals and ensure necessary statutory processes were followed” – as they would “with any involving the potential for the sudden unexplained death of a baby or a child”.
“It was quickly identified that there was information to suggest a criminal offence may have been committed,” the force added.
Sarah’s case was dropped earlier this year and is no longer active.
Her story comes as the British Society of Abortion Care Providers and the British Pregnancy Advice Service (BPAS) – one of the main licensed abortion clinics – today issue a statement saying women under investigation on suspicion of illegally abortions are “incredibly distressed” that a vote on abortion law won’t take place this parliamentary term.
“As soon as the new parliament returns in July, it must urgently act,” BPAS says.
Before the general election was called, MPs were due to debate abortion law.
Amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill aimed at stopping women facing criminal sanction for ending their pregnancy had been proposed.
‘A national scandal’
“There’s an increasing number of women who are facing investigation and suspicion that they have had an illegal abortion,” says Jonathan Lord, an NHS consultant gynaecologist and co-chair of the British Society of Abortion Care Providers.
Anecdotally, he knows of up to 100 women who have been investigated in the last year, which he says is “unprecedented”.
“What these women are going through and the horrific way they’ve been treated… it’s a national scandal,” he adds.
Some women have been treated in a ‘horrific’ way, says Dr Lord
Dr Lord says he’s seen a rise in police approaching abortion providers for records and information about women who had considered an abortion.
Responding to police inquiries has become a “major” part of his job.
“In no other field of medicine would you expect the police to ask for medical records, they are confidential for a reason,” he tells Sky News.
The official numbers are lower than what Dr Lord reports, but still at record levels.
Between 2022 and 2023, 29 people in England and Wales were recorded as under police investigation on suspicion of procuring an illegal abortion – the highest in two decades.
Police investigations into abortions are at the highest levels in two decades
And Freedom of Information data for Sky News shows there’s been a rise in the number of people taken to court for this offence.
Between 2010 and 2019, 17 cases reached court in England and Wales. Only six of those cases resulted in a conviction. That’s about a third.
But in just a few years, between 2020 and 2023, 11 cases went to court. Almost half of those (five) resulted in a conviction.
An illegal abortion is any attempt to procure a miscarriage where it’s not signed off by two doctors, or the medication hasn’t been prescribed.
Experts can’t fully explain what is fuelling this but suggest a combination of factors might be at play, including increased police awareness of the ease of “at home” abortions.
‘Prosecutions not in public interest’
In England, Wales and Scotland, it is legal to terminate a pregnancy up to 24 weeks in an NHS clinic or approved abortion provider, with the permission of two doctors. In Northern Ireland, abortion was fully decriminalised in 2020.
Women can have a surgical abortion or they can take two pills – known as a medical termination.
Since COVID, the “pills by post” scheme became a permanent measure. It means both pills can be taken at home in the early stages of pregnancy following an online telephone consultation.
Misoprostol is one of the pills used legally in the UK to terminate a pregnancy
Having a termination outside of these circumstances in England and Wales is illegal under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. The maximum penalty is life in prison.
“I think abortion care should come under the umbrella of healthcare,” says Lucie Baylis, an unplanned pregnancy nurse at Royal Cornwall NHS hospital.
“I don’t think there is any public interest in prosecuting women who seek abortion outside of the legal parameters.”
Earlier this year, new guidance was issued by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists urging medics not to report patients if they suspect a woman of illegally ending their own pregnancy.
Ms Baylis says ‘it seems mad’ women are pursued by police
In the first official guidance issued of its kind, it says a healthcare worker must “justify” any disclosure of patient data or face “potential fitness to practise proceedings”.
Ms Baylis said “it seems mad” women should be passed to police or authorities rather than handled as a healthcare patient.
‘Law should follow the science’
But others think moves to change the law are “irresponsible” and “would only have the impact of incentivising women to have late-term abortions by themselves, with no medical oversights,” says Calum Miller, a doctor and medical ethics professor at the University of Oxford.
“The current law acts as a deterrent to stop this,” he says.
“Data from other countries is very clear that when you make a certain kind of abortion legal, it does become more common.
“As an example, in New Zealand, there was a 43% increase in abortions after 20 weeks,” he says.
Dr Miller feels proposed amendments have the aim of “legalising abortion up until birth, which isn’t in step with British public opinion”.
Dr Miller says proposed law changes aren’t in step with public opinion
In an October YouGov poll, 25% of people said they thought the current 24-week legal limit was too late and should be reduced, while 49% said it was about right, and 6% believed it should be extended.
“Abortion laws should follow the science. And it should say at the very least that if a baby is potentially viable, abortion should not be an option,” says Dr Miller.
While Sarah accepts why she was investigated – for looking for pills online – she is still struggling with the impact the investigation has had on her life.
“It never leaves your mind,” she says.
“Having to live with it for 50-odd weeks… You think ‘am I going to get a knock on the door? Are we going to get taken away?'”
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The police force involved with Sarah’s case told us: “Immediate action was taken to secure evidence to ensure that a thorough investigation could take place.
“This was a complex investigation, requiring extensive forensic and medical evidence, and unfortunately these kind of enquiries take time.”
The National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Crown Prosecution Service also say these investigations are “rare” and “would only be initiated where there is credible information to suggest criminal activity… often as a result of concerns raised from medical professionals”.
They say they come with “unique” factors and “personal circumstances” that are “carefully” considered.
Donald Trump has threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn over edits the organisation made last year to one of his speeches.
The organisation has been engulfed in a crisis, forced to apologise on Monday after two of its most senior figures, including the director-general, resigned on Sunday night.
The defamation claim centres around a BBC Panorama documentary, which aired October 2024 and showed an edited speech made by Mr Trump before the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, in which he appeared to tell his supporters he was going to walk with them to the US Capitol and “fight like hell”.
In a letter dated 9 November, Florida-based lawyer Alejandro Brito set the BBC a deadline of 10pm UK time on Friday to respond, outlining three demands:
• Issue a “full and fair retraction” of the documentary,
• Apologise immediately,
• “Appropriately compensate” the US president.
He told the BBC it needed to “comply” or face being sued for $1bn.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We will review the letter and respond directly in due course.”
‘Error of judgement’
On Monday, BBC chairman Samir Shah, one of the most senior figures still standing, apologised for the “error of judgement” in editing the video.
In a letter to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of MPs, Mr Shah said Mr Trump’s speech was edited in a way that gave “the impression of a direct call for violent action”.
“The BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgement,” he added.
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BBC admits Trump documentary ‘mistake’
Director-general and head of BBC News resign
Concerns about the edited speech first came to light in a leaked memo from Michael Prescott, a former journalist and independent adviser to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Board.
As a result, BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief Deborah Turness announced their resignations on Sunday evening, saying in emails to staff that mistakes had been made.
Mr Davie will address an all-staff meeting on Tuesday. While on her way into the Broadcasting House on Monday morning, Ms Turness defended the corporation, rejecting accusations of institutional bias.
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Trump’s claims of ‘corrupt’ BBC journalists rejected
Downing St stands by BBC – but chancellor says ‘lessons to be learned’
A spokesperson for the prime minister told reporters on Monday that the BBC wasn’t corrupt or institutionally biased.
Instead, they said it had a “vital role” to play in the modern age, but needed to ensure it acted “to maintain trust and correct mistakes quickly when they occur”.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves also stood by the corporation, but said that “lessons do need to be learned”.
‘Nothing but an apology’
Veteran broadcaster and former BBC presenter Jonathan Dimbleby told Sky News, however, that the organisation owed the US president nothing more than an apology.
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‘These are very serious times for the BBC’
But former legal correspondent for the BBC Joshua Rozenberg also told Sky News that he believed the corporation would “very likely” consider settling with Trump.
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BBC ‘very likely to consider settling with Trump best thing to do’
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Mr Trump’s attack on the BBC is the latest in a long string of multibillion-dollar battles he’s engaged with various media institutions.
UK
Rachel Reeves signals she will break tax pledges – and gives strongest indication she will lift two-child cap
Rachel Reeves has signalled she is going to break her manifesto tax pledges at the budget – and has given her strongest indication yet she will lift the two-child benefit cap.
The chancellor said the world has changed in the year since the last budget, when she reiterated Labour’s manifesto promise not to raise national insurance, VAT or income tax on “working people”.
“It would, of course, be possible to stick with the manifesto commitments, but that would require things like deep cuts in capital spending,” she told BBC 5Live.
“I have been very clear that we are looking at both taxes and spending,” she added.
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The chancellor also gave her strongest indication yet she will lift the two-child benefit cap at the budget on 26 November, saying it is not right a child is “penalised because they are in a bigger family”.
Ms Reeves blamed poor productivity and growth over the last few years on the previous government “always taking the easy option to cut investment in rail and road projects, in energy projects and digital infrastructure”.
She said she promised during the election campaign to “bring stability back to our economy”.
Ms Reeves, here with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in London in September, blamed tariffs for poor growth. Pic: PA
‘I’ll always do what’s right for UK’
“What I can promise now is I will always do what I think is right for our country, not the easy choice, but the thing that I think is necessary,” she added.
The chancellor blamed the UK’s lack of growth under her tenure on global conflicts, trade and tariffs over the past year.
In a dig at Donald Trump, who has imposed wide-ranging tariffs on countries around the world, she said: “The tariffs. I don’t think anyone could have foreseen when this government was elected last year that we were going to see these big increases in global tariffs and barriers to trade.
“And I have to be chancellor in the world as it is not necessarily the world as I would like it to be. But I have to respond to those challenges, and that’s the responsible thing to do.”
Read more:
What tax rises and spending cuts will Reeves announce at budget?
Gordon Brown ‘confident’ of two-child benefit cap change
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‘Shameful’ that 4.5m children in poverty
‘Children should not be penalised’
The government has, so far, resisted lifting the two-child benefit cap, which means a family can only claim child benefits for the first two children.
But, it is a contentious subject within Labour, with seven of its MPs suspended two weeks after the election for voting to scrap it, while others are aware it will cost £2.8bn to do so.
Former Labour prime minister and chancellor Gordon Brown has been pushing for Ms Reeves, who says he is her hero, to lift it.
She said she saw Mr Brown at Remembrance Sunday, where they “had a good chat and we’ve emailed each other just today”, as she revealed they speak regularly.
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Labour’s child benefit cap dilemma
Ms Reeves added Mr Brown and Sir Tony Blair were big heroes of hers because they did so much to lift children out of poverty – the reason she went into politics.
Pushed on whether she would lift the cap, she said: “I don’t think that it’s right that a child is penalised because they are in a bigger family, through no fault of their own. So we will take action on child poverty.”
Mr Brown earlier told Sky News’ Mornings with Ridge and Frost he was “confident” of a two-child benefit cap change at the budget.
The latest YouGov polling found 59% of the public are in favour of keeping the cap in place, and only 26% thought it should be abolished.
Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “Rachel Reeves has borrowed, spent and taxed like there’s no tomorrow – and she’s coming back for more because she doesn’t have a plan or the strength to stand up to Labour’s backbenchers, who are now calling the shots.
“My message is clear: if Rachel Reeves reduces government spending – including the welfare bill, she doesn’t need to raise taxes again. “
After Tim Davie’s resignation announcement only a day ago, talk is turning to who could replace him and take on the highest-profile role in British broadcasting.
The BBC‘s director-general position is a crucial role, serving effectively as both the corporation’s chief executive and its editor-in-chief across television, radio and online.
Davie, who has worked for the BBC for 20 years and been in charge for the past five, is not stepping down immediately.
He said in his departure note to staff that he is “working through exact timings with the board to allow for an orderly transition to a successor over the coming months”.
It is still early days, but here are some of the names being discussed as contenders for the role.
Charlotte Moore
Charlotte Moore. Pic: BBC/Guy Levy 2021
Chief executive of Left Bank Pictures, a British independent TV and film production company owned by Sony, Charlotte Moore was chief content officer at the BBC for five years before leaving in the summer.
She was among those shortlisted when Davie got the job in 2020 and is known as the mastermind behind the commissioning of The Great British Bake Off.
In March 2023, she was awarded the Royal Television Society Judges Award in recognition of her leadership “through one of the most momentous years in [the BBC’s] history and having done so with an exceptional combination of steadfast level-headedness, confidence and creative flair”.
“The BBC is an extraordinary place to work,” she said in a statement when her move to Left Bank was announced.
“There’s nowhere quite like it that backs risk-taking, innovation and homegrown creativity with such commitment.”
James Harding
James Harding
A former editor of the Times and director of BBC News, James Harding is the co-founder and editor of slow news venture Tortoise Media, which bought The Observer newspaper in December 2024.
Harding called for the BBC to be “put beyond the reach of politicians” in an interview with Sky News before giving the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival in the summer.
Establishing the independence of the BBC is critical “if we want to build confidence in shared facts and respect for the truth”, he said.
Jay Hunt
Jay Hunt. Pic: House of Commons/PA Archive 2025
Jay Hunt is Apple TV+’s creative director for Europe and was appointed chair of the British Film Institute in 2024.
She has previously worked as chief creative officer for Channel 4, director of programmes at Channel 5 and controller of BBC One.
Channel 4 was named Channel of the Year at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in 2014 and 2016 under her leadership, and she was known for buying the rights to The Great British Bake Off from the BBC.
At Apple, she has overseen commissioning for award-winning shows such as Bad Sisters and Slow Horses.
Alex Mahon
Alex Mahon. Pic: House of Commons/PA Archive 2022
After almost eight years as chief executive of Channel 4 – the first woman in the broadcaster’s history to take the helm – Alex Mahon left the role earlier this year to lead live entertainment group Superstruct Entertainment.
Superstruct owns and operates more than 80 music festivals across 10 countries in Europe and Australia, including Boardmasters in Cornwall and Mighty Hoopla.
Mahon’s move allowed her to earn a more lucrative remuneration package than the one on offer to her at Channel 4, Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman reported at the time.
Dawn Airey, Channel 4 interim chair, described her as a “great figure in British television” and said she had been “one of the most impactful CEOs” since the founding of Channel 4 in 1982.
She was the recipient of Variety’s 2020 International Achievement in Television Award and has been honoured with an International Royal Industrial Fellowship.
Dame Carolyn McCall
Dame Carolyn McCall. Pic: Richard Kendal/RTS 2023
Dame Carolyn McCall has led ITV since she joined the channel in 2018, having served as chief executive of easyJet for seven years and chief executive of the Guardian Media Group for four years.
She was made a dame in 2016 for services to the aviation industry and an OBE before that in 2008 for services to women in business.
She has led ITV plc’s “significant transformation in the competitive digital media landscape since joining in 2018, successfully evolving it from a linear organisation to a strong linear and digital media, entertainment, and global production business”, her biography for the broadcaster states.
McCall is in the preliminary stages of talks with Sky, the owner of Sky News, over the possible sale of ITV’s media and entertainment division.
Sir Trevor Phillips
Sir Trevor Phillips
Another name that has been suggested by a few commentators is Sky News’s Sir Trevor Phillips, who presents Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips each weekend.
A businessman and journalist, Phillips has won Royal Television Society journalism awards three times. He is also a Times columnist and was shortlisted for Comment Writer of the Year in 2020.
Phillips, who was knighted in 2022 for services to equality and human rights, was previously head of current affairs for London Weekend TV (where he worked alongside BBC chair Samir Shah), chair of the London Assembly, chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and president of the John Lewis Partnership Council.
His name has been mentioned as a possible contender on political website Guido Fawkes, as well as by Rod Liddle on Times Radio and journalist Stephen Pollard in a column for The Spectator, headlined: “Is this the man who can save the BBC?”
Senior BBC staff
Could the BBC look internally?
One name that has been mentioned is Jonathan Munro, who, since joining the BBC in 2014, has led news coverage “through every major story over the last decade”, his biography for the broadcaster states, from Brexit to UK general elections, and the death of the Queen to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
He became global director of BBC News in September 2024, and is also director of the BBC World Service and deputy chief executive of BBC News and Current Affairs.
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There is also Kate Phillips, who replaced Moore as chief content officer, the senior executive responsible for all the BBC’s network TV and radio output, in the summer.
She has only been in the role for a few months, having previously held the position of director of unscripted content. During the pandemic, she was acting controller of BBC One.
In other circumstances, BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness perhaps could have been a possible candidate to replace Davie, but she announced her resignation alongside his on Sunday night.
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BBC boss ‘right to resign’
As Davie said, he is looking to pass on the baton in the coming months.
His successor will be appointed by the BBC Board, which is responsible for ensuring the broadcaster delivers its mission and public purposes.
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