A man in the UK has been found guilty after causing a “forced abortion” upon a woman at 15 weeks gestation, by drugging her with the abortion pill.
Stuart Worby, 40, reportedly obtained and then crushed the abortion drug mifepristone into her orange juice. He also sexually assaulted the woman and forced more mifepristone into her without her knowledge. The woman was 15 weeks pregnant when her preborn child died as a result of the assault.
After the victim suffered significant cramping and heavy bleeding, she checked herself into a hospital, where it appeared she had suffered a miscarriage. However, afterward, she discovered text messages on Worby’s phone, in which he wrote to a friend, “It’s working,” and “There is lots of blood.” It was then that she realized that she had been drugged and her child aborted against her will.
Police later found other text messages which showed Worby had illegally obtained the abortion pills, along with multiple incriminating Google searches.
13 weeks post-fertilization, 15 weeks LMP
Another woman, Nueza Cepeda, has been charged as an accomplice to the crime. Police say Cepeda called an abortion facility, falsely told them she was pregnant, and requested the abortion pill drugs before handing them over to Worby.
“We pay tribute to the bravery of the victim who has endured the most terrible loss, her courage to come forward and give evidence has been invaluable in ensuring a guilty verdict,” said DCI Duncan Woodhams in a statement.
“We also pay tribute to all the medical and health professionals and family, neighbours and friends who have supported the victim in her testimony. The impact of this event could have life-long repercussions for the victim.”
“This has been a complex investigation into the deceitful and determined actions of Worby which had such horrific consequences and marks the first of its kind in finding someone guilty of this specific crime,” he said.
In a press release, Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right To Life UK, stated, “We are calling for the Government to immediately end the ‘pills by post’ at-home abortion scheme, under which these abortion pills were provided by one of the UK’s largest private abortion providers, and then used by Stuart Worby to spike a woman’s drink and end the life of her unborn child at 15 weeks’ gestation. We are also calling for a full inquiry into the abortion provider, The Gynae Centre, which provided the abortion pills that Stuart Worby used.”
Robinson added, “If at-home abortions had not been introduced, Stuart Worby would not have been able to obtain these pills from this abortion provider, and this tragic case would not have happened. The woman involved would not have been spiked and her baby would not have had his or her life ended at 15 weeks gestation.”
Though the crime may be described as the “first of its kind,” this is not the first instance in which the abortion pill has been procured illegally and then used to cause an abortion against a mother’s knowledge. As abortion advocates continue to push for increased access to the abortion pill and the removal of safeguards meant to prevent abuse, more situations like these will likely occur, in which men use the dangerous abortion drugs for nefarious purposes on unwilling victims.
