Mum jailed over illegal abortion to be freed from prison after top judge calls for 'compassion not punishment'

A woman who was jailed for having an abortion after the legal time frame during lockdown will be released from prison after appealing her sentence.

Carla Foster, 45, was handed a 28-month extended sentence last month after she admitted illegally procuring her own abortion when she was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court previously heard that she had obtained the abortion tablets from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) in 2020, after lying to medical professionals about how far along she was.

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Sentencing her last month, Mr Justice Pepperall said Foster would serve half her term in custody before being released on licence. But following a hearing at the Court of Appeal in London today (Tuesday), three judges reduced her sentence, the PA news agency reports.

Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Lord Justice Holroyde and Mrs Justice Lambert, said Foster’s sentence would be reduced to 14 months and that it should be suspended.

"This is a very sad case… It is a case that calls for compassion, not punishment," Dame Victoria said. Foster appeared via videolink from Foston Hall prison for the hearing, wearing glasses and a dark blue top with flowers on the shoulders.

During the sentencing hearing, the court heard Foster, who had three sons before becoming pregnant again in 2019, did not see a doctor about her pregnancy because she was "embarrassed" and did not know how far along she was.

The prosecution said Foster made several internet searches between February and May 2020, including 'how to hide a pregnancy bump', 'how to have an abortion without going to the doctor' and 'how to lose a baby at six