A nurse, who feared for her life and needed emergency surgery after taking ‘DIY’ home abortion pills, is considering legal action against Marie Stopes UK.
‘Sophie’ – a pseudonym – discovered she was pregnant in July, but found herself alone and with nowhere to turn following the breakdown of her relationship with the father of the baby.
Having never been pregnant before, Sophie contacted Marie Stopes seeking help, unsure whether or not she wanted to proceed with her pregnancy.
However, during her interactions with the international abortion giant, the professional nurse said she was denied proper counselling and was rushed through the abortion process.
Recalling her experience at the abortion facility, Sophie said: “There was no ‘hello’ or anything, I was told to just sit on the couch. I was asked if I was sure about what I was doing. I said I was 90% sure, but that I was really confused.
“They must have seen how upset I was and that I was in no position to make a decision about anything. I wasn’t with it at all, she must have looked at me and been able to tell I wasn’t ok.”
‘Excruciating pain’
Despite Sophie’s state of mind, a Marie Stopes representative told her that, as she was five weeks and two days pregnant, she could take ‘DIY’ abortion pills at home.
A concerned Sophie told the abortion clinic worker that she didn’t want to take the pills at home as she would be on her own.
In her attempts to reassure Sophie, the Marie Stopes representative said that the discomfort from taking the pills would be “just like bad period cramps” and that pain relief could be obtained from a pharmacy.
However, Sophie experienced “excruciating pain”.
She revealed: “When I took the second pill at home, I began to experience the most excruciating pain. It continued to escalate that evening to the extent I thought I was going to die.
“I was desperate for more pain relief. Fortunately, my friend prevented me from taking too much.”
‘I still felt pregnant’
The following afternoon, Sophie began to experience significant bleeding that lasted for ten days.
“My body was still changing, I still felt pregnant. By this point I was in serious distress and didn’t understand what was happening,” she said.
Desperate and anxious to know why she still felt pregnant, Sophie attended a hospital and had an internal scan.
She was told she still had ‘products of conception’ inside of her that had a blood supply and ‘looked like a sack’.
She was then given the options of taking more abortion pills or having emergency surgery.
Now recovering after surgery, Sophie is receiving support from the Pregnancy Crisis Helpline, which supports women who are going through or have experienced crisis pregnancies.
She is now keen to start a support group connecting women who have had similar experiences.
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Sophie is also considering legal action against Marie Stopes for medical negligence.
Revealing the lack of care shown to her by Marie Stopes during her ordeal, Sophie said: “I had no follow-up from Marie Stopes. When I repeatedly called, I was told that they did not have any counsellors available and that I could not get an appointment.”
She added: “Marie Stopes knew I had this complication and was suffering, yet no one called me, no one checked to see what was going on. I cannot imagine what would have happened if I had been completely alone. The counselling was not available when I needed it most.
“There must be proper assessments for women in crisis pregnancies rather than being rushed through such a traumatic process.
“Every day since, I have asked myself: ‘why did I do it?’ I was in shock. It was totally wrong for me.”
‘Immense courage’
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “Sophie has shown immense courage to tell her story after what she has been through.
“Those running abortion services in England have elevated ideology over women’s safety, and we are seeing the tragic consequences of that.
“We are concerned about how many more of the tens of thousands of women who have accessed this service have had similar traumatic experiences.
“These pills are highly dangerous drugs which should not be handed out at a clinic or posted to women to take at home without proper medical supervision.
“Tragically, vulnerable pregnant women who have used the telemedicine service during UK lockdown to avoid coronavirus have died or experienced serious life-changing complications.
“The DIY abortion service is a dangerous lottery. We call on the Care Quality Commission to urgently analyse its data in order to fully understand and investigate how many more women across the UK have been damaged by this service since it was introduced by the government on 30 March.”
Problems mount for ‘DIY’ home abortions
Sadly, Sophie is not alone in her ordeal. A number of women have come forward to share the serious problems they’ve experienced after taking ‘DIY’ home abortion pills.
One woman said she went through “hell” and thought she was going to die after taking the dangerous pills.
Another woman said the pain and physical process was “horrible” and “a lot worse than expected”.
Similar to Sophie, it was revealed yesterday that another woman has had an abortion after being denied face-to-face counselling.
Nikita Jain Jones was unsure whether or not to proceed with her pregnancy and sought counselling from the UK’s largest abortion provider before making a final decision, which boasts that it can offer same-day abortions in its ‘considering abortion’ booklet.
Unable to access the help she needed before the 24th week of pregnancy – the latest a woman can legally terminate a pregnancy involving a non-disabled unborn baby – Nikita had an abortion.
‘DIY’ home abortion challenge
Medical abortions involve taking two tablets. The first, mifepristone, is designed to prevent the development of the unborn baby, while the second set of pills, misoprostol, induces a miscarriage.
Despite assurances there would be “no change” to abortion regulations, and that in-person consultations remain “an essential safeguard” for women, the Department for Health and Social Care announced on 30 March that it would allow pregnant women in England to take both sets of pills involved in a medical abortion at home.
Just one day later, the devolved governments in Holyrood and the Welsh Assembly introduced ‘telemedicine’ abortions in Scotland and Wales.
The governments in England, Scotland and Wales made the very substantial legislative changes without any public consultation, parliamentary scrutiny or debate.
The Christian Legal Centre is challenging the changes to the Supreme Court.
It comes as serious problems and safety abuses continue to come to light following the introduction of ‘DIY’ home abortions.
In addition to personal stories, a leaked “urgent email” sent by a regional chief midwife at NHS England and NHS Improvement on the “escalating risks” of ‘DIY’ home abortions police have opened a murder investigation into the death of a baby who they believe was born alive despite her mother taking ‘DIY’ home abortion pills.
A nationwide undercover investigation found evidence of abortion providers putting women at significant risk by not carrying out basic checks before sending them ‘DIY’ home abortion pills.
The study also discovered ‘DIY’ home abortion pills can easily be obtained and administered to others, potentially in a coercive manner.
In May, it was revealed UK police were investigating the death of an unborn baby after its mother took ‘DIY’ home abortion pills while 28 weeks’ pregnant.
In addition, abortion provider BPAS said they were investigating a further eight cases of women taking ‘DIY’ home abortion pills beyond the 10-week limit, raising questions over what checks are being conducted to ensure the law isn’t being broken and dangerous late-term abortions aren’t happening.
BPAS and Marie Stopes quick to provide abortion, but not support
A spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson said: “What this shows, yet again, is that the so-called ‘pro-choice’ lobby is really just pro-abortion.
“Tragically, in the space of two days, two stories have come to light about women who have had an abortion because they were denied counselling. The lives of two babies have been lost because their distressed mothers found it significantly easier to secure an abortion than counselling.
“BPAS boasts that it can offer same-day abortions in its considering abortion’ booklet, yet denies women real choice, the face-to-face counselling and the support which may help them keep their babies.
“BPAS, Marie Stopes and the rest of the abortion lobby appear to have no interest in providing real practical support for women seeking counselling or in crisis pregnancies. It appears these are services are likely seen as a legal inconvenience for them when they just want to focus on abortions along with expanding the conditions in which they can perform them.”
