Court Case Postponed
The judicial review of a mother who helped her 15-year-old daughter procure abortion pills online has been postponed to Autumn. It was meant to be heard on Wednesday 31st May and Thursday 1st June. This postponement is due to the Court of Appeal delivering their judgment, on Monday 12th June, on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s court challenge of the Northern Ireland abortion law.
A doctor at the clinic where the girl sought advice from her GP after taking the abortion pills reported her to the police. The case, that raises “issues of considerable public importance and public debate,” will look at whether the decision by police to access her medical records without her permission represented a breach of her human rights.
Her mother faces two charges of unlawfully procuring poison (the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol) with intent to procure a miscarriage, contrary to the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, and supplying that poison to her daughter. If convicted, she faces a sentence of up to 10 years.
The girl found out she was pregnant in the summer of 2013 and her mother “claims” she did not know it was illegal to use them in Northern Ireland. In a statement made to her lawyers, and submitted in the case for judicial review, the mother said: “Had I been aware that there was any legal issue about the purchasing of the tablets I would probably have been more cautious.”
We hope the court will always protect the legal rights and dignity of very human being, including innocent unborn children.
We will keep you updated with further details on this court case and pending judgment.