An email from an NHS chief midwife reveals a murder investigation has been launched into the death of a newborn baby after the mother took home abortion pills.
The email says the baby may have been aborted after birth, and it also reveals that two mothers died after taking abortion pills at home.
The disclosure came in evidence submitted to the High Court in a legal challenge to the government’s decision to allow at-home medical abortions during the Covid-19 crisis.
A witness statement from Kevin Duffy, former global clinics director at abortion provider Marie Stopes International, included the contents of an ‘urgent’ email sent to NHS staff on the ‘escalating risks’ of the ‘pills by post’ service.
Sent on 21 May 2020, the email states that there are 13 incidents under investigation.
These include a murder investigation into the death of a baby aborted after birth, two maternal deaths, and abortion pills being delivered to a woman 22 weeks over the legal limit for home abortion.
The email was marked as urgent and begins by stating that the Care Quality Commission has been made ‘aware of an escalating risk around the “Pills by Post” process’.
Mr Duffy’s evidence also revealed details from a ‘mystery client’ investigation into the home abortion services, commissioned by Christian Concern, which showed abortion providers repeatedly crossing legal boundaries.
Twenty volunteers took part in an industry standard ‘mystery client’ research to see if the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and Marie Stopes UK were abiding by the law and properly caring for women.
Evidence given to the court has revealed that in every case abortion pills were sent to the volunteers, despite them using false names, dates of birth, false GP registers and gestational dates.
In one case, the volunteer gave a date that could only have led to an abortion beyond the 10-week safety limit given in the regulations.
In another, abortion pills were sent to a woman who asked for them because she was concerned about being pregnant on holiday.
A spokesperson for Christian Concern said, ‘The leaked email is a sickening admission that those running abortion services in England have elevated ideology over women’s safety.
‘The email appears to suggest that pregnant women who have used the telemedicine service during UK lockdown have died or experienced serious life-changing complications.
‘This further confirms the inherent danger of DIY abortions and shows how ideologues who show little concern for women – and no concern for babies – have captured NHS England as well as the providers and professional bodies.’
