Baby dies after mother takes abortion pill at 30 weeks

A baby has died after his mother took an abortion pill when she was 30 weeks pregnant.

Despite desperate attempts to save the little boy, named Ronnie, he died four days later at a maternity unit in Sheffield.

According to a coroner’s inquest, the mother from East Yorkshire believed she was only twelve weeks pregnant when she decided to have an abortion.

Tragedy

The mother arrived at York Hospital after she had already taken the first abortion pill (mifepristone), and gave birth in a hospital toilet. It is not clear how she procured the pill.

According to reports, the coroner said it was not clear whether any scans had taken place to determine how far along the pregnancy was before the woman took the pill.

The coroner concluded that if the real length of the pregnancy had been correctly identified and if Ronnie had been born in an appropriate setting, he would have likely survived.

Under normal circumstances, a baby born at 31 weeks would have a 95 per cent chance of survival.

DIY abortions

Chemical abortion involves taking two pills – mifepristone and misoprostol. The first blocks the production of progesterone – preventing the baby’s development – while the second induces a miscarriage.

Since March 2020, women and girls believed to be less than ten weeks pregnant can have unsupervised home abortions in England without any scan following only a phone or video consultation.

Earlier this year, MPs at Westminster voted to make permanent the ‘emergency’ Covid measures permitting unsupervised home abortion in England.

The National Network of Designated Health Care Professionals recorded 47 cases of home abortions beyond the 10-week limit since March 2020. In twelve of these the children had been born with signs of life.