Women accused of illegal abortions in England and Wales after miscarriages and stillbirths

Dozens of investigations have been launched by police in the past 10 years into suspected breaches of 1861 law

Women in England and Wales who have suffered miscarriages or stillbirths are being investigated by police on suspicion of having illegal abortions, with some forced to hand over their phones and laptops for invasive digital strip searches".

In one case in 2021, a 15-year-old girl who had an unexplained early stillbirth was subjected to a year-long criminal investigation that saw her text messages and search history examined. Police dropped the case after a coroner concluded the pregnancy ended because of natural causes.