Doctors’ leaders condemn police advice to search for abortion drugs after pregnancy loss

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has criticised “truly shocking” police guidance detailing how to search women’s homes for abortifacient drugs and seize phones to look for period trackers in cases involving sudden unexpected pregnancy loss.

The Practice Advice on Child Death Investigation from the National Police Chiefs’ Council was published in January but has only just come to public attention.1 It replaces 2014 guidance that did not mention investigating stillbirths and had one mention of investigating women who may have had an illegal termination. The new version has eight pages covering stillbirths and termination of pregnancy outside legally permitted circumstances.

It comes as women’s reproductive rights are increasingly under the spotlight. Earlier this month 45 year old Nicola Packer was cleared of illegally terminating a pregnancy after taking abortion pills during the covid lockdown.2 She is one of six women in the UK who have appeared in court over the past two years charged with ending their own pregnancy. Before this, only three convictions had been reported of an illegal abortion since the current law was introduced in 1861.3

An amendment laid to the Crime and Policing Bill that is currently making its way through parliament would decriminalise abortion up …