Woman kept in police custody for 36 hours after stillborn birth due to suspicions she had ‘illegal abortion’

Sign up for the Independent Women email for the latest news, opinion and features Get the Independent Women email for free Get the Independent Women email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. UK abortion providers, who supported the woman, denied she had flouted the legal deadline and warned the treatment she endured “should be unthinkable in a civilised society”, with “no conceivable” public interest in holding her. Jonathan Lord, medical director of MSI Reproductive Choices, one of the UK’s leading abortion providers, told The Independent the woman unexpectedly delivered a stillborn foetus at home that was about 24 weeks old. Dr Lord, who contributed to drawing up the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence abortion care guideline and quality standards committees, added that he has access to the birth weight and measurements of the stillborn child and is confident it is under 24 weeks He also gave the example of a young teenage girl they supported who was investigated by the police after she gave birth to a stillborn at 28 weeks of pregnancy last year. “That a woman can spend 36 hours in a police cell while recovering from surgery following pregnancy loss, resulting in PTSD, or a young teenager can be driven to self-harm and have her confidentiality destroyed, should be unthinkable in a civilised society.” Abortions are still deemed a criminal act in England, Scotland and Wales under the 1967 Abortion Act.