Teen who was 6 months pregnant ‘took pills to induce illegal abortion in family bathroom’ court told

Harvey and her boyfriend, Elliot Benham, 25, are said to have searched online for methods to end the pregnancy and bought drugs she then took, before wrapping the baby in a towel and dumping it in a bin

A teenager who was six months pregnant obtained pills to illegally abort her baby, a court was told.

Sophie Harvey, 25, is accused of taking the drug to end her pregnancy after learning she was at 28 weeks and five days gestation. Harvey and her boyfriend, Elliot Benham, 25, are said to have searched online for methods to end the pregnancy and bought drugs she then took.

Gloucester Crown Court heard after she gave birth in her bathroom aged 19, Harvey wrapped the baby in a towel and dumped it in a bin. Anna Vigars KC, prosecuting, said: “These two young people found themselves in a very difficult situation facing difficult choices – a situation of their own making. In the summer of 2018 they were both 19 and in a relationship and had been for about a year.”

Mrs Vigars explained by August 2018, Harvey thought she might be pregnant having not had a period since mid-April and was referred to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) by her GP. A scan on August 30 showed Harvey was at 28 weeks and five days gestation. Mrs Vigars added: “It was impossible for her to have an abortion at this stage. Staff spent time speaking with them and unsurprisingly both of them appeared shocked. She didn’t want to have the baby and bluntly both of them wanted the problem to disappear.

“Whatever your views of abortion and the right of woman to choose, or whether you believe abortion is wrong because of the ending of a life, what is very clear is this: by the beginning of September 2018, Sophie Harvey and Elliot Benham were in a difficult position and one that was not going to go away unless they did something about it.”

The court was reminded abortions are legal in England up to 24 weeks gestation if carried out by a registered medical practitioner, and can be carried out beyond 24 weeks in very limited circumstances. However, they did not apply in this case.

One member of staff at the BPAS said: “She appeared scared and stunned, catatonic, I was not able to make eye contact as she kept looking at the floor. I remember her saying it was not an option for her to tell her parents. She didn’t disclose what she intended to do about the pregnancy.”

The court heard the defendants had searched the internet for information on illegal abortions and the drugs needed. Their searches included “Is online abortion pills legit?” and “Do MTP kits work?” Mrs Vigars said about a week after the BPAS appointment, Benham paid £309.44 for drugs to induce a medical abortion, which he collected from the Royal Mail on September 22.Harvey later told the police they had decided to keep the baby but in September suffered a stillbirth.

Mrs Vigars added: “In fact, they suffered a stillbirth between the date the pills were ordered and the date they arrived. They say Sophie Harvey gave birth in a bathroom one Sunday afternoon while her family were away at a dancing competition. In her shocked state she wrapped the baby in a towel and disposed of the baby. They say although they had got what they needed for an illegal abortion, in fact Sophie Harvey never took the pills and the baby was born still, and the pregnancy came to an end naturally.”

The prosecution do not accept that account. The prosecution position is that the pregnancy was brought to an end by the taking of that pill. “The Crown’s position is having done the research, they obtained the pills and she took the first pill and then gave birth, before getting rid of the baby’s body. In getting rid of the baby’s body they were also getting rid of any medical evidence that she had taken the pill.”

Calls, emails and letters from Harvey’s GP and a community midwife went unanswered and after she went beyond the period for giving birth, social services and the police were informed. Officers went to her home in November 2018 and Harvey explained the baby had been stillborn and the body put in a bin.

They found the packet of pills Benham had bought in Harvey’s bedroom with one tablet missing. Harvey, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, denies charges of procuring a poison, procuring own miscarriage by poison and attempting to pervert the course of public justice.

Benham, of Wingfield, Swindon, Wiltshire, denies a single charge of attempting to pervert the course of public justice. Both defendants have pleaded guilty to concealing the birth of a child. The trial was adjourned early for lunch after Harvey became tearful in the dock. The trial continues.