Call by post to end abortion pills after poisoning

An anti-abortion group has called for abortion drugs to be made available by post after a man was convicted of poisoning a woman with pills.

The man was Stuart Warby, 40, from Dereham, Norfolk 12 years in jail for sexually assaulting a pregnant woman And giving her abortion medicine.

Right to Life UK wants the government to suspend the ability to send people the drug by post, which was introduced during the Covid pandemic in response to the cases.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service said that women need safe abortions and should not be punished “for the actions of abusive men”.

Verby gave the woman crushed mifepristone in a glass of orange juice. The next day she administered misoprostol during sexual assault.

The pills are usually used together to induce an abortion in early pregnancy.

They are usually kept 24 hours apart and can be given to the woman at home after consulting a doctor.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had a miscarriage in hospital within hours of the attack – which took place in 2022.

In this case, Warby obtained the drug from a friend, Nyssa Cepeda, who posed as a woman in need of an abortion.

After a phone consultation with a doctor from a London clinic, they sent him the medicine.

The Pill-by-Post scheme enables women less than 10 weeks pregnant to get abortion pills after a phone or video consultation with a doctor.

It was introduced during the Covid pandemic to ensure women can continue to access abortion during early pregnancy. This scheme was made permanent in March 2022.

Critics have said that removing the requirement for an in-person medical appointment increases the potential for abuse of the process.

Earlier this year, a cross-party group of MPs introduced an amendment The criminal justice bill would attempt to restore the pre-pandemic requirement of a face-to-face medical examination before abortion medication can be prescribed.

Right to Life UK campaigns on issues such as abortion, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

The group’s spokeswoman, Katherine Robinson, has called on the government to end the ability to obtain abortion pills by post in light of the Verbi case.

“If home abortion had not been introduced, Stuart Warby would not have been able to obtain these pills from this abortion provider, and this tragic case would not have occurred.

“The woman involved would not have been poisoned and her baby’s life would not have ended.”

Cepeda obtained the drug from The Gynecology Centre, a private women’s health clinic in London.

The clinic has not responded to the BBC’s requests for comment.

The Department of Health and Social Care said it had no plans to review the system.

A spokesperson said: “Our deepest sympathies are with the victim in this horrific case.

“It is vital that women who choose abortion are able to do so safely, and the department works closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and providers to ensure that abortion is available legally and Provided with strong clinical monitoring.”

He said women who were given the drug to terminate a pregnancy were warned that it was illegal to give it to anyone else.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service reported that the scheme to obtain abortion pills by post was used safely by thousands of women each year.

The group’s chief executive, Heidi Stewart, said it was right that Verbi’s abuse of the system was punished, but she defended the post-by-post process.

“For anti-abortion groups to use this abuse to call for the removal of confidential, accessible abortion care for thousands of women each year, is predictable and completely unsupported by the evidence.

“Making abortion harder to access would give the defendants and men like (Warby) more power and control over the most vulnerable women.

“Women should not be punished for the actions of abusive men.”

Nueza Cepeda, 39, of Walnut Drive, Dereham, pleaded guilty to supplying a drug with intent to cause an abortion.

He was sentenced to 22 months in prison, but suspended for two years.