Case Dropped Over At-Home Illegal Abortion

Prosecutors have decided to withdraw charges against a woman who was accused of conducting an illicit abortion at home during a lockdown, concluding a three-year investigation. Bethany Cox, 22, had vehemently denied allegations of intentionally taking a drug on July 6, 2020, with the purpose of ending the life of a viable unborn child, knowing it would result in pregnancy termination. Additionally, she faced charges of administering a poison with the intent to induce a miscarriage as the initial coronavirus lockdown concluded.

 

Scheduled to stand trial the following week, Cox saw the case take an unexpected turn as prosecutor Jolyon Perks formally presented no evidence in court due to "evidential difficulties" in challenging her defense statement. Perks explained to Teesside Crown Court, "The Crown reached the conclusion that crucial evidence to counter the defense's case was lacking, rendering a conviction no longer realistically possible."

 

Representing Cox, Nicholas Lumley KC expressed disappointment that the case had progressed so far without addressing the apparent evidential challenges earlier. Lumley emphasized that Cox had consistently maintained the same account in her defense statement as she had provided to police officers immediately after the incident. He stated, "This is an extraordinary situation where Bethany Cox gave birth to her child in July 2020. In the midst of grief, she was interviewed, recounting to the police what she had done."

 

Highlighting the prolonged investigation and prosecution process, Lumley asserted, "She was under investigation for three years, then prosecuted, then at the 11th hour, when the court and defense highlighted evidential difficulties... The defense statement echoes what she told police three years earlier; the evidential difficulties have always been there. The prosecution accepts what she said to the police must have been right. That is beyond regrettable."

 

Lumley also mentioned that a psychiatric examination confirmed the profound impact the legal proceedings had on Ms. Cox, who was notably absent from the court hearing.

 

The Johnson Partnership

(formerley GV Hale)