Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Abortion pills mum: I can move on now
Woman’s relief after judge dismisses case following law change
A WOMAN acquitted of buying abortion pills for her daughter after a landmark law change said she is relieved to move on with her life.
A judge directed a jury at Belfast Crown Court to find the 39-year-old mother not guilty following the decriminalisation of abortion this week.
With the law change including a direction that any ongoing prosecutions were discontinued, the Crown offered no evidence to the court on Wednesday morning.
The woman could have faced a five-year jail term if she had been convicted of securing pills for her then 15-year-old daughter in 2013.
The woman at the centre of the controversial case, who was excused from the hearing, hailed the law change.
She said: “I find it hard to put into words.
“For the first time in six years I can go back to being the mother I was, without the weight of this hanging over me.
“I am so thankful that the change in the law will allow other women and girls to deal with matters like this privately in their own family circle.”
Earlier judge David Mcfarland said despite the law being repealed, he was required to go through the legal formalities.
He added: “Some of you may be aware the law was changed in Northern Ireland.
“In addition to that, Parliament directed any ongoing charges in relation to those sections should be discontinued.” Crown lawyer Kate Mckay said: “The prosecution offers no evidence.” The judge then told jurors to find the accused “not guilty by direction”. He then confirmed the woman was formally discharged by the court. Outside court, Grainne Teggart, from Amnesty International, which had been supporting the woman, said the outcome was evidence of a new “compassionate” legal framework in Northern Ireland.
She added: “Today we are relieved that she can go back to being a mother.
“What we are seeing today is our new abortion law taking effect.
“No longer will women be hauled through the courts and treated as criminals for accessing this healthcare service.
“This is the beginning of a new era for Northern Ireland – a more caring and compassionate Northern Ireland. This mother is now free to move on from this ordeal and go back to her family.
“This has had a devastating impact.
“Of course, first and foremost on the mother but also on her daughter. She has been used as tool in her prosecution.
“She turned to her mother for help when she needed it. Her mother did what any other parent would arguably have done and provided that help, and she was prosecuted for doing so – that should never have happened.”
BELFAST CROWN COURT YESTERDAY