Woman who took pills during lockdown not guilty of illegal abortion
8 May 2025, 15:37
A woman has been found not guilty of having an illegal abortion during the second coronavirus lockdown.
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Nicola Packer, 45, cried and wiped her eyes with a tissue after she was acquitted by a jury at Isleworth Crown Court in south-west London, of "unlawfully administering to herself a poison or other noxious thing" with the "intent to procure a miscarriage".
The trial heard she took abortion medicine at home in November 2020 and later brought the foetus to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in a backpack.
Read More: Mushroom poison murder suspect's kids 'ate leftovers’ of fatal dish, court hears
Packer, then 41 years old, took prescribed medications mifepristone and misoprostol, when she was around 26 weeks pregnant, jurors previously heard.
The legal limit for taking medication at home for an abortion is 10 weeks.
Prosecutors alleged that Packer knew she had been pregnant for more than 10 weeks, which she denied.
Jurors rejected the prosecution's case to find the 45-year-old not guilty of having an illegal abortion.
Packer was supported by five people in the public gallery, with some hugging each other after the verdict was read to the court.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (Rcog) said the trial of Nicola Packer had shown "just how outdated and harmful" current abortion law is and called for reform.
Mushroom poison murder suspect's kids 'ate leftovers’ of fatal dish, court hearsThe college's president, Dr Ranee Thakar, said: "As a doctor, I am acutely aware of how vital it is that women can access essential healthcare in a safe and supportive environment.
"Restrictive abortion laws in England and Wales nurture an environment of fear, stigmatisation and criminalisation.
"They needlessly subject women to prolonged investigation, criminal charges, and custodial sentences for ending their own pregnancy.
"The Rex v Nicola Packer case at Isleworth Crown Court that concluded today shows just how outdated and harmful these laws have become.
"Abortion reform is urgently needed and now is the time for change."
The college said it had joined with healthcare professionals and experts "from over 30 other medical, legal and public health bodies" to call on Parliament to "take urgent action to protect women's essential reproductive rights and stop these criminal proceedings".
