Abortion investigations causing women ‘life-changing harm’, says UK expert

Photograph: Robert Matton AB/Alamy

Women in England and Wales accused of having illegal abortions have been held in custody after pregnancy loss, had their children taken into care and been saddled with debt, an expert has said.

Dr Jonathan Lord, a co-chair of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) abortion taskforce, said he was aware of up to 30 “deeply traumatic” cases where women had been investigated by the police, with some suffering “life-changing harm”.

He said: “We’ve had patients lose everything – lose their home, lose their children, lose their relationship with their partner – purely as a consequence of the investigation.”

In some cases, women had been prevented from returning to homes deemed crime scenes, and forced to hand over their phones and laptops for “horrendously disabling” digital strip-searches, he said.

In others, women had been left fearing for their lives after their cases were publicised. “We’re aware of cases where women have had death threats against them and needed to have panic alarms installed – and bearing in mind this is after the most traumatic event in their lives,” Lord told the Guardian.

His warning comes after the RCOG issued new guidance on Monday saying doctors and other healthcare staff should not report suspected illegal abortions to the police as prosecutions were never in the public interest.

There is concern over an increase in the number of investigations and prosecutions of women who have sought or had abortions.

Lord said some women who had been investigated had been later in their pregnancy than they realised when they had terminations. He said the most worrying cases concerned women who had in fact had late natural miscarriages.

He said: “One of the common threads is that although no abortion drugs were used and there’s no suggestion that they had been used, staff or police learn that they had considered an abortion in that pregnancy and therefore feel they might have brought about the miscarriage or premature labour.”

By law, patients’ data must not be disclosed without their consent. Health staff can breach rules to give information to the police about possible crimes only if it is deemed to be in the public interest.

Lord said the guidance sought to make “crystal clear” that doctors and healthcare workers had a duty of confidentiality and that breaches could subject women and their families to “life-changing harm”.

He said: “Breaking confidentiality not only harms the woman but also brings healthcare into disrepute. There is a big danger that the most vulnerable patients will be too scared to then present to regulated healthcare, which means we’ll never be able to safeguard and help them.”

He said some women suspected of illegal abortions had faced the “brutality” of arrest, investigations of up to four years, and had their children taken away from them.

Lord said: “There are at least two women who’ve been held in custody for over 36 hours, and remember this is immediately after a traumatic pregnancy loss and maybe surgery as a result of that. That is just absolutely awful. I’m aware of some who have developed mental health issues and post-traumatic stress disorder, where there was no previous mental health issue, and are now taking drugs such as antidepressants.

“One of the worst aspects is the impact on the children. We’ve had cases where children have been removed from the family and contact banned and restricted. And once that happens, even if the investigation doesn’t go anywhere, it is really hard getting them back again.”

Lord said police confiscated the electronic devices of suspects and there were concerns that messages, internet searches and even data from period tracker apps could be used against them.

He said some patients had been saddled with life-changing debt, with one woman who was reported to police by NHS staff having to pay more than £30,000 in legal costs before her case reached court.

”They’re never going to get their life back on track,” he said. “To add insult to injury, even if they’re not arrested, even if they’re not charged, if they are interviewed under caution for an alleged illegal abortion, that will come up on enhanced DRB check for the rest of their life.”

Abortions in England, Scotland and Wales must be approved by two doctors and take place within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Otherwise, an abortion is illegal and, under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

Since 2022, at least six women in Great Britain have been taken to court and dozens have been investigated for allegedly ending their pregnancies outside the legal requirements covering abortion. Between 1861 and November 2022, three women in Great Britain were convicted of an illegal abortion.

Lord, an NHS consultant gynaecologist and the medical director of MSI Reproductive Choices UK, a charity and abortion provider, said the law was “not fit for purpose” and needed reform.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “These exceptionally rare cases are complex and traumatic. We carefully consider the personal circumstances of those who end their pregnancy outside the legal parameters and address these as sensitively as possible. Our prosecutors have a duty to ensure that laws set by parliament are properly considered and applied when making difficult charging decisions.”