Online abortion pill sales are increasing in the UK

But most women don't realise they risk life imprisonment. Charties and political groups are calling for the law to be changed

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The number of women purchasing illegal abortion drugs online has risen in recent years. But what many women don't realise is that they are putting themselves at risk of life imprisonment by terminating their pregnancies in this way.

Government figures show 375 doses, sent to addresses in England, Wales, and Scotland, were seized in 2016, compared with just five in 2013.

What's the law?

While buying prescription medication online is not an offence, under a law passed in 1861, any woman who uses medication for her own abortion is breaking the law – punishable by up to life imprisonment.

The UK has one of the harshest penalties for unlawful abortion in Europe. Critics say this law is hopelessly outdated – after all, it was drafted at a time when no-one could have imagined that pill could be used to safely induce terminations, let alone that they could be ordered online.

And a survey by The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (bpas) found that fewer than one in 8 people (12%) are aware of the current law. The charity is warning that few women who take these pills understand the legal risk they are taking when they do so and is calling for abortion to be decriminalised.

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Why some women can't access legal services

NHS abortion treatment is free and widely available in Britain, but remains mostly illegal in Northern Ireland. But even for women who do have access to the services, there are many reasons why they might not be able to go to a specialist clinic, such as disabilities and even domestic violence.

Testimonies released by Women on Web have revealed why some women feel unable to access this option:


While another woman pointed out that it was impossible to attend appointments due to caring for her disabled daughter.

"I've just found out I'm pregnant and I can't keep the baby, can you tell me if I can get the tablets from you please. I am in the UK but it's impossible for me to get to a clinic due to having a disabled daughter who I can't leave and I have no one else I can trust. I'm in a complete mess, clinics said I have to leave my daughter at home but I have no one else at all to have her, due to her disabilities a nursery can't have her. I'm 1 week late. I'm in good health and have no allergies or medical conditions. Please I'm really desperate for help."

Women who have served time

In 2012, 40-year-old Sarah Catt was jailed for eight years for terminating her pregnancy with pills she had bought online when she was 39 weeks pregnant.

While Natalie Towers, 26, was sentenced to two-and-a half-years in 2015 after using the abortion pill while she was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant.

Challenging the law

On 13th March, Diana Johnson MP is proposing a bill to decriminalise abortion. If it became law, it would protect women who do need to use online abortion pills from criminal sanction.

Ann Furedi, bpas chief executive, said that abortion services should be as accessible as possible, but pointed out that it's clear for some women the barriers to clinic-based treatment feel insurmountable. And also, as awareness of online abortion pills is increasing, the problem will only grow. She urged desperate women to contact bpas so that it can help them find a safe, legal solution.


"Fifty years after the 1967 Act was passed, it is time to bring women's reproductive healthcare into the twenty-first century and remove abortion from the criminal law. By doing so we would remove the clinically unnecessary legal barriers to treatment that make in-clinic care impossible for some women, and protect those who need to use online pills from prosecution and punishment."

A wide-range of women's organisations and medical groups support the decriminalisation of abortion, including the Women's Equality Party, the Royal College of Midwives, the Fawcett Society, and the Family Planning Association.

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