Ban abortion ‘pills by post’, ministers urged

Ministers have been urged to ban the “pills by post” at-home abortions scheme after a man used the medication to spike the drink of a woman and cause a miscarriage.

Stuart Worby was jailed on Friday for 12 years for assaulting the woman when he administered the abortion pills in a glass of orange juice after obtaining them online.

The pills by post scheme was introduced during the Covid pandemic to prevent the spread of the virus and enable women to obtain the medication online without having an in-person consultation with a medical professional.

However, the scheme remains in place despite calls for in-person consultations to be reinstated.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was blindfolded under the guise of what they said was “kinky sex”. She suffered a miscarriage in hospital within hours of the assault.

‘Betrayal and pain’

Worby, of Malthouse Court in Dereham, Norfolk, was convicted of two counts of assault against the woman and administering a poison or using an instrument with intent to procure a miscarriage.

“You must have known this was dangerous for the victim,” said Judge Joel Brennathan, speaking at Norwich Crown Court.

“She spoke of the betrayal and pain and the strong possibility that you have stolen the one possibility she had to be a mother. You are a selfish man.”

In a victim impact statement, the woman said that since the ordeal she had met a new partner but had been unable to conceive. “The only baby that I could have had was the one I lost,” she said.

The case has prompted demands for an immediate ban on the “pills by post” at-home abortion scheme and for in-person consultations to be reinstated.

Earlier this year more than 50 MPs across political parties sought to amend the law to reinstate the in-person consultations. They included former deputy prime ministers Therese Coffey and Damian Green and Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader.

Flick Drummond, the Tory MP who tabled the amendment, said: “This tragic case is an example of the risks that the abortion ‘pills by post’ scheme continues to present to women.

“Restoring in-person consultations before abortion pills can be prescribed would prevent such cases as doctors would be able to verify if a woman seeking to obtain pills really is pregnant herself.

“In-person consultations also enable doctors to check for signs of coercion or potential health risks for the woman and confirm that her gestational age is within the limit where at-home abortions are safe and legal.”

‘Vulnerable women at risk’

Miriam Cates, a former Tory MP, said: “Many of us warned about exactly these kinds of dangers when the ‘pills by post’ scheme was introduced.

“This need not be an ideological issue – whatever one’s views on abortion, permitting abortion pills to be sent in the post without a doctor seeing a woman in person to assess potential health risks or possible misuse of the pills puts vulnerable women at risk.”

Others have been in favour of the change since the scheme was made permanent in March 2022, including Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former Cabinet minister, Labour MP Rachael Maskell and Maggie Throup, a former health minister.

In February 2022, the government announced the pills by post scheme without consultation would end but a Lords amendment retaining it was passed by 27 votes in March 2022.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service has argued that women should not have to visit a clinic to take abortion pills. They argue that medical research has shown it to be safe and vulnerable women in abusive relationships find it far easier to talk honestly to clinicians over the phone rather than face to face.

Catherine Robinson, spokeswoman for Right to Life, said: “We are calling for the Government to immediately end the ‘pills by post’ at-home abortion scheme. Had at-home abortions not been introduced, Stuart Worby would not have been able to obtain these pills from this abortion provider, and this tragic case would not have happened.”