Illegal abortion accused 'shocked' by pregnancy

A woman who denies having an illegal abortion has told a court she would not have gone through with the termination had she known how far along she was in her pregnancy.

Nicola Packer, 45, took medicine at home to induce a miscarriage on 6 November 2020, when she was about 26 weeks pregnant, her trial has heard. The outer limit for abortions in England, Scotland and Wales is 24 weeks.

Ms Packer told jurors she was "shocked and surprised" when she discovered the pregnancy was much further along than she thought, after delivering the female baby while on the toilet.

Earlier, she told the court she did not think she could be pregnant when she took a test and was "very shocked" to discover she was.

The defendant has previously told Isleworth Crown Court that when she took the drugs she did not believe she was more than 10 weeks pregnant - the legal time limit for at-home terminations.

She denies unlawfully administering to herself a poison or other noxious thing with the intent to procure a miscarriage.

"I just felt really bad, I didn't know I was pregnant or that far along," Ms Packer said.

Breaking down in tears, she went on: "If I had known I was that far along I wouldn't have done it... I wouldn't have put the baby or myself through it."

Ms Packer said that she wrapped the baby in a scarf, but there were no signs of her being alive. The jury previously heard that she took the baby to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in a backpack the day after taking the medicine.

The defendant told jurors that she did not think that she had done anything wrong.

Of her arrest on 8 November, she said: "I was terrified, I didn't know what was going on."

Ms Packer had earlier told the jury she had never wanted children and that she believed her chances of getting pregnant were "basically none" due to her age.

Asked why she did not initially believe she was pregnant, Ms Packer told jurors that she had shown "no signs" as her breasts were not sore, she did not feel sickness or fatigue and had only gained a small amount of weight.

She took the pregnancy test on 2 November after experiencing stomach aches, jurors heard.

Asked how she felt when it came back positive, Ms Packer said: "I was very shocked." She added: "As I know I don't want children I knew I would want a termination."

Ms Packer, then 41 years old, took the prescribed medications mifepristone and misoprostol.

The trial continues.

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