The mother of a teenager in Northern Ireland is being prosecuted in the criminal court for obtaining medical abortion pills for her daughter in 2013. The case was first reported in June 2015, and the crime, under the 1861 Offences against the Person Act, was described as “procuring a poison or other noxious substance”* for her daughter to have a miscarriage.If she lived in any other part of the “United Kingdom”, the girl would have been fast-tracked for an abortion free on the National Health Service.The mother has got legal aid for the case itself, but her legal team want to force a judicial review of the decision to prosecute her – especially given that the daughter was under the age of consent when she became pregnant by her boyfriend. Unfortunately, even with some pro bono representation, a judicial review is an expensive undertaking and she has asked the Northern Ireland Alliance for Choice to help her to raise the legal fees needed.NI Alliance for Choice started crowdfunding 6 days ago. The amount they need to raise is UK£30,000. As of this writing they have raised £3,655 from 152 supporters. Funds need to be raised by 12 December.
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*Note: Medical abortion pills are neither a poison nor a noxious substance. They are on the World Health Organization Essential Medicines List, and are extremely safe for self-use at the correct dose in early pregnancy. See Getting Help.SOURCES: Belfast Telegraph, 19 June 2015 ; E-mail from NI Alliance for Choice, 18 November 2016