A woman from Teesside has been found not guilty of charges related to having an abortion during lockdown, as the Crown Prosecution Service did not provide any evidence.

The prosecution has not presented any proof against a woman who was charged with using drugs to induce an unlawful abortion at the conclusion of the initial coronavirus lockdown in the UK.

On Tuesday, Bethany Cox, 22, was officially declared innocent of the charges brought against her under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, which has been criticized as inhumane and antiquated by activists.

Nicholas Lumley, a barrister who is representing Cox, stated that the situation was “unusual”. He also mentioned that his client had been questioned by the police while still in a state of mourning and that the investigation had been ongoing for three years.

Bethany Cox, who resides in Eaglescliffe, Stockton, was absent from the court when she was officially cleared of charges. Lumley stated that Cox’s absence was due to the immense emotional toll of the investigation and legal proceedings, as well as the ongoing grieving process for the events in question.

Judge Paul Watson KC, the recorder of Middlesbrough, officially declared Cox innocent of two counts related to an unlawful abortion while presiding over proceedings at Teesside crown court.

In August, Cox entered a plea of not guilty to the charges against them. During a hearing on December 19th, presiding judge Mrs Justice Lambert of the north-eastern circuit requested that the prosecution review the specifics of the case. The court was informed of this on Tuesday.

The prosecution’s representative, Jolyon Perks, stated that the case had been thoroughly deliberated within the Crown Prosecution Service and challenges with evidence had resulted in the choice not to proceed with the charges.

He stated that the prosecution did not have crucial evidence and that there was little chance of a conviction.

The challenges with providing evidence were not revealed.

Lumley stated that the challenges had existed since the start.

“The concerns raised parallel her statements to the police, and the challenges with evidence have always existed,” he stated. “The prosecution now acknowledges that her statements to the police were likely accurate, which is deeply regrettable.”

The prosecution should not have gone as far as it did, according to Rachael Clarke, the chief of staff at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS).

She stated that they are pleased that the charges against a young woman in Teesside have been dropped and that the case will not go to trial. They are hopeful that she can now start to recover from the long and undoubtedly difficult experience.

“However this case should never have got to this point … As it stands, England and Wales have the most severe punishment for an illegal abortion in the world – up to life imprisonment. This is worse than countries and states with severe anti-abortion laws such as Texas, Afghanistan, and South Sudan. We are on the wrong side of history.”

Clarke stated that BPAS is collaborating with MP Dame Diana Johnson on a proposed change to the criminal justice bill that addresses the laws surrounding abortion.

She urged MPs to support the amendment and do what is morally right.

Activists and legal professionals in the previous year cautioned about a rise in the prosecution of women for abortion.

In 2023, the court dealt with the cases of five women, one of whom was Cox. Among them was Carla Foster, who had initially been imprisoned but had her sentence decreased by the court of appeal.

She confessed to unlawfully obtaining an abortion while being 32 to 34 weeks pregnant and was sentenced to 28 months in jail by Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

The sentence was shortened to a suspended period of 14 months by three judges in the appeal court, including Dame Victoria Sharp. She stated, “This is a situation that requires empathy, not retribution.”

Cox was initially accused of the following: “On 06/07/2020 in Stockton, with the intention to end the life of a viable unborn child, they willfully administered drugs to induce an abortion, which is against section 58 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, resulting in the death of the child before it could survive outside of its mother’s body.”

The second accusation stated: “On dates between February 7th, 2020 and July 7th, 2020 in Stockton, as a pregnant woman, you illegally self-administered a poison or harmful substance with the intent of causing your own miscarriage.”

Source: theguardian.com