A woman from Northern
Ireland who was prosecuted for buying
abortion pills online for her teenage daughter has been formally acquitted after landmark reform of the region’s laws.
A judge directed a jury at Belfast Crown Court to find the mother not guilty.
After the verdict, the woman expressed her relief.
“My emotions are all over the place and I find it hard to put into words how I am feeling,” she said in a statement.
“For the first time in six years I can go back to being the mother I was, without the weight of this hanging over me every minute of every day and I can finally move on with my life.
“I am so thankful that the change in the law will allow other women and girls to deal with matters like this privately in their own family circle.”
Her solicitor Jemma Conlon, of Chambers Solicitors, added: “Today is a day of immense relief for my client, who now finds herself free from the burden of this prosecution that has been in her life for six years.
“It is a day that she will forever remember and a day that allows her to finally move on with her life privately without anguish and criminalisation.”Related... Northern Ireland's Gay Marriage And Abortion Laws Change Tonight – Here's What You Need To Know Historic Marriage and Abortion Rights Granted in Northern Ireland