Nicola Packer, a 45-year-old woman who took abortion medication during the Covid lockdown, has been found not guilty of unlawfully terminating her pregnancy. The trial at Isleworth Crown Court heard that she had taken the prescribed drugs mifepristone and misoprostol at home in November 2020, believing she was within the legal limit. She later brought the foetus to hospital in a backpack. The court ultimately rejected the prosecution’s claim that she knowingly exceeded the 10-week threshold for home medical abortions.
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The emotional case has reignited debate around the UK’s abortion legislation, which medical experts have described as outdated and damaging. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) stated that the proceedings against Ms Packer underscored the urgent need for reform. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who supported Ms Packer during the trial, called the investigation “cruel and unnecessary”, adding that it highlighted the harsh consequences of laws written in an era before women had the right to vote.
During the trial, Ms Packer testified that she had no idea she was around 26 weeks pregnant at the time she took the medication. Tearfully, she told the jury she would never have taken such action had she been aware of her stage in pregnancy. Supporters in the public gallery embraced after the verdict was read, expressing both relief and frustration over the ordeal Ms Packer endured over four and a half years.
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Following the trial, the RCOG joined more than 30 medical, legal and public health organisations in calling on Parliament to decriminalise abortion and protect reproductive rights. While the Crown Prosecution Service defended its decision to bring the case, stating it had a duty to apply the law impartially, critics argue the law itself is in urgent need of revision. Ms Antoniazzi described the trial’s impact on Ms Packer’s life as “utterly deplorable”, insisting that justice cannot be served under such antiquated legislation.
