A six-month pregnant teenager obtained pills to abort the baby, a court heard

A six-months-pregnant teenager obtained pills to illegally abort her own child, a court heard. Sophie Harvey is accused of taking the drug to end her pregnancy after learning she was 28 weeks and five days pregnant, meaning she could not have a legal abortion in England.

Prosecutors say Harvey and her boyfriend, Elliot Benham, now 25, then looked online for ways to end the pregnancy and bought drugs, which she then took. Gloucester Crown Court heard that after giving birth in the bathroom of her home aged 19, Harvey wrapped the baby in a towel and threw it in a bin.

Anna Vigars KC, prosecuting, told the court that abortions are legal in England up to 24 weeks’ gestation if carried out by a registered doctor and can be carried out beyond 24 weeks in very limited circumstances, which did not apply in this case. “These two young men found themselves in a very difficult situation, facing difficult choices – a situation of their own making,” she said.

“In the summer of 2018, they were both 19 and in a relationship for about a year.” Ms Vigars explained that by August 2018, Harvey thought she might be pregnant, having not had a period since mid-April.

Harvey and Benham told their GP that she might be pregnant in around 16 weeks and that they did not want to keep the baby, so they were referred to the British Pregnancy Advice Service (BPAS). The couple had an appointment at BPAS on August 30, where a scan revealed Harvey was 28 weeks and five days pregnant.

“It was impossible for her to have an abortion at this stage,” Ms Vigars said. “Staff spent time talking to them and unsurprisingly they both seemed shocked.”

BPAS staff referred Harvey back to her GP for urgent antenatal care but community midwives were unsuccessful in their attempts to contact her, the court heard. “She didn’t want to have the baby and no doubt they both wanted the matter to go away,” the prosecutor said.

The court heard that the defendants searched the internet for information about illegal abortions and the necessary medication. Addressing the jury, Ms Vigars said: “Whatever you think about abortion and a woman’s right to choose, or whether you think abortion is wrong because it ends a life, what is very clear is this: until the beginning of September. 2018, Sophie Harvey and Elliot Benham were in a difficult position and one that wasn’t going to go away unless they did something about it.”

Ms Vigars said about a week after the BPAS appointment, Benham paid £309.44 for drugs to induce a medical abortion, which she collected from Royal Mail on September 22. Harvey later told police they decided to keep the baby, but in September she suffered. a stillbirth.

“Their position is this,” Ms Vigars said. “They actually suffered a stillbirth between the time the pills were ordered and the time they arrived. Sophie Harvey is said to have given birth in a bathroom on a Sunday afternoon while her family were away at a dance competition.

“In her shocked state, she wrapped the baby in a towel and threw the baby away. They say that although they got what they needed for an illegal abortion, in fact Sophie Harvey never took the pills and the baby was still born and the pregnancy ended naturally.”

Ms Vigars added: “The prosecution does not accept this account. The prosecution’s position is that the pregnancy was terminated by taking that pill. The Crown’s position is that after they did the research they obtained the pills and she took the first pill and then gave birth, before getting rid of the baby’s body.

“To get rid of the baby’s body, they also got rid of any medical evidence that she took the pill.”

Harvey, of St Mary’s Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, denies charges of procuring poison, causing miscarriage by poison and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Benham, of Wingfield, Swindon, Wiltshire, denies one charge of attempting to pervert the course of public justice.

The trial was adjourned early for lunch after Harvey began to cry in the dock.