The defendant, who at the age of 19 procured an abortion by purchasing pills on the Internet was given a three months suspended sentence at Belfast Crown Court. The defendant could not afford to travel to England to obtain a legal termination. However, she sought advice from a clinic in England about what pills to buy and induced an abortion.
She pleaded guilty to two offences: procuring her own abortion by using a poison, and supplying a poison with intent to procure a miscarriage, contrary to the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.