Woman Jailed for Aborting Eight-Month-Old Baby to Be Released After Appeal

Court artist sketch of Carla Foster appearing by video link from Foston Hall Prison in Derbyshire, at the Court of Appeal, London, on July 18, 2023. Elizabeth Cook/PA

A woman who was jailed for illegally obtaining abortion pills to kill her eight-month-old unborn baby will soon be released after the Court of Appeal reduced her sentence on Tuesday.

Carla Foster, a 45-year-old mother of three, took abortion pills mailed to her during lockdown in 2020 after she lied to the abortion provider about how long she had been pregnant. The still-born child, Lily, was found to be between 32-34 weeks old in a post-mortem examination.

Ms. Foster was given a 28-month sentence in June for administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion. She was to spend up to 14 months in prison and the rest on licence.

The Court of Appeal reduced her sentence on Tuesday to 14 months. Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Lord Justice Holroyde and Mrs. Justice Lambert, said Ms. Foster’s sentence should be suspended.

“This is a very sad case, not least because of the length of the gestation when the offence was committed,” Ms. Sharp said.

“It is a case that calls for compassion, not punishment, and where no useful purpose is served by detaining Ms. Foster in custody.”

The judge also said that there was “exceptionally strong mitigation” in Ms. Foster’s case and that she should be released from prison “immediately.”

Foston Hall prison, where Carla Foster is being held ahead of her release, on July 18, 2023. Danny Lawson/PA

In England and Wales, abortion is legal up to 24 weeks of pregnancy but can only be carried out in hospitals or clinics after ten weeks.

Before COVID-19 lockdowns, women seeking pills for an early abortion had to go to a clinic to get the first drug, but can take the second drug at home. On March 30, 2020, then Health Secretary Matt Hancock granted temporary approval of taking both pills at home during the first ten weeks of pregnancy. The temporary law change was made permanent in August that year.

Lockdown Abortion

During her sentencing, the court heard that at the beginning of the lockdown, Ms. Foster moved back in with her long-term but estranged partner while carrying another man’s child.

Between February and May 2020, she made a number of internet searches including how to induce a miscarriage and about abortion services.

She called the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS)—a leading abortion provider—on May 6, and gave false information that would suggest that she had been pregnant for seven weeks and four days.

A few days later, Ms. Foster took the pills posted to her by BPAS, and gave birth to Lily on May 11. Paramedics failed to resuscitate the child. Further internet searches on the same evening suggested that Ms. Foster thought she may have been 30 weeks pregnant.

Ms. Foster was initially charged with child destruction and pleaded not guilty, before admitting an alternative charge of administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion, which the prosecution accepted.

‘Deep And Genuine Remorse’

Sentencing Ms. Foster, Mr. Justice Pepperall said there was evidence the defendant had “emotionally unstable personality traits,” but she wasn’t “suffering from any serious mental illness at the time of this offence.”

But after the abortion, Ms. Foster felt “very deep and genuine remorse” for her actions, and was “wracked by guilt and have suffered depression,” the judge said.

“I also accept that you had a very deep emotional attachment to your unborn child and that you are plagued by nightmares and flashbacks to seeing your dead child’s face,” he said.

In this photo illustration, packages of Mifepristone tablets are displayed in Rockville, Md., on April 13, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

During her appeal, her barrister Barry White said there was a lack of “vital” reports into Ms. Foster’s 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 of Appeal was told that the prison in which Ms. Foster has spent 35 days has refused to allow her any form of communication with her three children, one of whom is autistic.

Mr. White also said Ms. Foster had voluntarily brought her actions to the attention of the police, adding, “Had she not done that, it is highly unlikely that she would have ever been prosecuted.”

‘Antiquated’ Law

Pro-abortion groups welcomed the court’s decision and said the law should be changed.

“The Court of Appeal has today recognised that this cruel, antiquated law does not reflect the values of society today,” BPAS chief executive Clare Murphy.

“Now is the time to reform abortion law so that no more women are unjustly criminalised for taking desperate actions at a desperate time in their lives,” she said.

Ms. Murphy urged Parliament to “decriminalise abortion as a matter of urgency so that no more women have to endure the threat of prosecution and imprisonment.”

Chiara Capraro, Amnesty International UK’s women’s rights director, also called for abortion to be decriminalised in England and Wales.

‘Fully Formed Human Child’

Pro-life campaigner Right to Life blamed the law change that allowed at-home abortions for the tragedy, calling for the reinstatement of in-person appointments.

“At at least 32 weeks or around 8 months gestation, Baby Lily was a fully formed human child. If her mother had been given an in-person appointment by BPAS, she would still be alive,” Catherine Robinson, Right To Life UK spokesperson said.

Ms. Robinson called for “the reinstatement of in-person appointments before abortions take place to ensure that the gestation of babies can accurately be assessed.”

She also called for an investigation into BPAS, which provided the pills, and urged the government to “firmly reject changing legislation to make abortion legal right up to birth.”

PA media contributed to this report.