Woman accused of illegal abortion cleared by jury

A woman accused of having an illegal abortion has been cleared by a jury.

Nicola Packer, 45, cried as she was acquitted of “unlawfully administering to herself a poison or other noxious thing” with the “intent to procure a miscarriage”.

Her trial at Isleworth Crown Court heard she took abortion medicine at home during the second coronavirus lockdown, in November 2020, when she was about 26 weeks pregnant. Ms Packer later took the dead baby to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in a backpack.

The legal limit for taking medication at home to terminate a pregnancy is 10 weeks, while the outer limit for any abortion in England, Scotland and Wales is 24 weeks, apart from in certain circumstances.