People in the UK have held protests after a woman was jailed for having an abortion at eight months.
Protesters hold pro-choice signs at a protest in London, United Kingdom on July 9, 2022. (Photo by Hesther Ng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
44-year-old Carla Foster had been sent abortion pills in May 2020 after she did a remote medical consultation during COVID lockdowns.
Protesters hold pro-choice signs at a protest in London, United Kingdom on July 9, 2022. (Photo by Hesther Ng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
She had just moved back in with her estranged partner during lockdown while she was carrying another man’s baby and repeatedly searched up information online about how to terminate her pregnancy.
Protesters hold pro-choice signs at a protest in London, United Kingdom on July 9, 2022. (Photo by Hesther Ng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Prosecutors say Foster, a mother of three, misled the nurse into believing she was about seven weeks pregnant.
Pro-choice activists rally outside City Hall on January 15, 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
This would allow her to use the abortion pills, which are intended for terminating pregnancies under 10 weeks.
Protestors take part in the Rally for Choice march on October 14, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
Foster took the medication and was later admitted to hospital, where her pregnancy ended in a stillbirth.
Pro-choice campaigners stage a demonstration on June 5, 2018, in Parliament Square in London demanding the British government decriminalizes abortion in Northern Ireland following the result of the referendum in the Republic of Ireland. (Photo via Getty Images)
A postmortem found that the pregnancy had been about eight months, or about 32 and 34 weeks.
Pro-choice campaigners stage a demonstration on June 5, 2018, in Parliament Square in London demanding the British government decriminalizes abortion in Northern Ireland following the result of the referendum in the Republic of Ireland. (Photo via Getty Images)
The coroner’s report said the fetus did not take an independent breath. Abortion is legal in England up to 24 weeks of a pregnancy but must be performed in a hospital after 10 weeks.
A protestor holds a placard in support of abortion rights outside the US Embassy in London on Friday, June 24, 2022, following a US Supreme Court decision that would allow states to ban abortion. (Photo by Vudi Xhymshiti/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
On Monday June 12, Foster was sentenced to 28 months based on a law dating back to 1861.
Protestors take part in the Rally for Choice march on October 14, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
She will serve at least 14 months in prison and the rest on release if she meets certain condition.
Pro-choice supporters stage a demonstration in Parliament Square to campaign for women’s reproductive rights, legalization of abortion in Northern Ireland and its decriminalisation in the UK on 11 May, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto)
The judge wrote in his decision that Foster was a good mother to her three children, including one with special needs, and that they would suffer while she was in prison.
Pro-choice supporters stage a demonstration in Parliament Square to campaign for women’s reproductive rights around the world on September 04, 2021 in London, England. (Photo via Getty Images)
The verdict has ignited calls for the UK to reform its laws so that women are not criminalized for seeking healthcare.
A protester holds a sign that says “Abortion is healthcare” during a protest in Trafalgar Square in London, United Kingdom on July 9, 2022. (Photo by Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Activists say the legal system should do more to help women in desperate situations to access healthcare instead of putting them in prison.
Pro-choice supporters march from Trafalgar Square to the US Embassy in a protest against the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, which affirmed the federal constitutional right to seek an abortion on July 09, 2022 in London, England. (Photo via Getty Images)
