Two of Britain's leading abortion charities are caught mailing 'DIY' termination pills without making basic checks on the women receiving them

Campaigners have warned that women's lives could be at risk after two of Britain's leading abortion charities were caught sending out so-called 'DIY' termination pills in the post without making basic checks.

At the start of the lockdown, the Government controversially relaxed rules so that abortion pills could be mailed to women who were up to ten weeks pregnant after a telephone consultation, rather than having to go to a clinic

Ministers insisted the temporary measure would be safe as two doctors had to sign off the prescription, but an investigation involving mystery callers found:

No attempts were made to check the identity of women who called up to obtain the pills;

There was no checks on whether women were actually registered with the GP practice that they gave;

There were no checks to establish how far pregnant the women were, even though the tablets carry a risk of severe bleeding and even haemorrhaging if taken after ten weeks.

Seven women received pills in the post after providing bogus details to Marie Stopes UK and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS).

Christian Concern, which commissioned the investigation, said it feared the system makes it easier for women to carry out an illegal abortion at home, even beyond the 24-week limit for terminations. 

Police recently launched an inquiry after a 28-weeks-pregnant woman in the Midlands got pills through the post from BPAS.

All seven callers lied about which GP practice they were registered with, and one of the women reduced the length of her pregnancy from nine weeks to seven midway through a call without causing concern.

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