Women prosecuted for abortions hail ‘historic day’ after receiving pardon

Campaigners and women previously convicted of illegal abortions have hailed a “historic day” after the pardoning of every woman who has faced criminal investigation for ending a pregnancy during the last 150 years.

A vote in the House of Lords earlier this year introduced legislation to pardon women accused of terminating their own pregnancies outside the legal framework and expunge their criminal records, under section 242 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which takes effect on Monday.

The House of Commons had previously voted to amend the laws around abortion to prevent future cases of women being criminalised for ending their own pregnancies, while keeping the legal framework for terminations in place.

However, some women have said that while they are “grateful” for the pardon, they would also like a formal apology from the government, as “none of us should have been on trial, investigated or sent to prison”.

It is understood that the pardons will apply to about 150 women, who have been identified from police records.

Details of convictions, cautions, arrests and police investigations relating to terminations will now be deleted from the women’s records, allowing them to work and travel without restrictions once more.

Several women were prosecuted after ordering medication online or obtaining drugs after a remote consultation, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, to terminate their pregnancies.

Some have spoken publicly about not realising they were beyond 24 weeks at the time including Nicola Packer, who was cleared by a jury at Isleworth crown court in London last year after an almost five-year ordeal.

She was prosecuted after she obtained pills from an authorised provider at the height of the pandemic, and had not realised that her pregnancy was more advanced than she initially thought.

Some of the women who have advocated for a change in the law were victims of domestic abuse or coercive control, including Laura*, a young mother who was jailed after her abusive partner coerced her into obtaining pills online.

“We’ve all been through so much to get here,” Packer said. “Although it can’t erase the memories of what we’ve experienced, it does remove the records that have made it difficult for some of us to get and keep jobs, and live our lives.”

“And it further validates the feeling that none of us should have been on trial, investigated or sent to prison,” she added. “It’s a great day for us and I feel lighter knowing that the records have been expunged.”

Amy* said she was “grateful” for the pardon, though it did not “undo the years of stigma, distress and judgment”. She said women had their parenting questioned, faced restrictions on contact with their own children and were seen as “a serious danger to society”.

“I do believe women deserved an apology for what they went through,” she said. “Although the authorities may have been acting within the law at the time, we have to remember that for many women, particularly during Covid, there was isolation, fear and nowhere to turn.

“Women were dealing with incredibly difficult circumstances, often without the support or help they needed.”

She added: “For me, the hardest part is knowing that I will always carry this experience with me. The publicity surrounding my case meant that my identity and where I lived became public knowledge.

“People know who I am and where I live, and even now I can struggle to walk into my local community without feeling that people are looking at me or judging me. Having a pardon doesn’t take away those experiences or give me back the privacy I lost.”

Up until the recent law change, women were often prosecuted under Victorian legislation dating back to 1861. They include Fanny Warboys, who was criminalised a year later, in 1862, a widow who ended up injured after a backstreet abortion and was sentenced to three months in prison.

Another woman, Mary Jane Baynon, 32, was jailed for three months in 1891 after travelling to London from her home in Sligo in western Ireland, and being reported to police by a fake surgeon.

In an early example of judges showing compassion for women who found themselves before the courts, Emma Sarah Rice, 25, was found guilty of an illegal abortion, but was sentenced to just one day without hard labour in 1881. She was still pregnant and in ill health, and “his Lordship said he thought the woman was more to be pitied than condemned”.

Dr Alison Wright, the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), said the pardons recognised “the injustice of historical convictions” and she was “delighted to see this progress”.

Dr Jonathan Lord, the co-chair of the RCOG’s abortion taskforce, welcomed a “historic day”, when “for the first time since the 13th century, women who have been convicted after a pregnancy loss for an alleged abortion will no longer have to carry the consequences of a criminal record”.

Many of the women prosecuted had no other convictions or cautions, but found themselves unable to work in certain jobs because they had been arrested for abortion offences.

Others found themselves having to disclose traumatic medical events to potential employers, even though they were never charged with a crime, as their arrests had shown on enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

Heidi Stewart, the chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), said: “For too long, women have faced the devastating consequences of outdated abortion laws … While no pardon can undo the distress and trauma these women have experienced, this historic change in the law recognises the profound harm caused by their criminalisation and represents a meaningful step towards justice.”

Women affected do not need to apply to have their convictions removed, or take any action, as police forces and courts will begin updating records in line with new requirements, which the government has described as “a priority”.

Alex Davies-Jones, the minister for victims and tackling violence against women and girls, said: “Pardoning women for abortion offences related to their own pregnancy has been a priority and I’m pleased to be able to commence the change that parliament voted for.

“For those affected, I know that clear and accessible information about what happens next is vital. Women do not have to take any direct action themselves, but can find out more information online and contact our dedicated casework team.”