Elen HughesWomen ‘bodies are still controlled by “Victorian era,” said a mother, after the police have published new directives that allow police to search women bereaved for abortion drugs.
Elen Hughes, from the Llŷn peninsula to Gwynedd, whose baby was stillborn, called horrible advice.
They include research on mothers’ mobile phones if a baby dies unexpectedly in the uterus.
The Council of Heads of the National Police (NPCC) said that such cases had rarely been the subject of an investigation and it was only if there were suspicions that an illegal abortion had taken place, each affair treated with “sensitivity”.
But Mrs. Hughes, who lost her son Danial 37 and a half weeks after her pregnancy, said that if the police had investigated her when she was still in mourning, “it could have been the end of me”.
“I could not imagine in addition to everything that goes through the mind of a woman and the families who go through the experience of losing a baby, a miscarriage or a mortance that the threat that the police can present themselves and question or inspect the house or the phone.
“The fact that they can do it is terrible. And why a law of the Victorian era still regulates women’s bodies in 2025?
Llinos Eames Jones lost Mari Law due to complications during pregnancy in 2000.
She said that she was disappointed by the police guidelines and that the last thing a mourning mother needed was to search the police through their phones and computers.
Since the loss of Mari Laws, she has been committed with Sands, who supports mourning families.
“At a time that is so difficult for families, I don’t know who makes these decisions but I can tell you something, they haven’t lost a piece of their hearts.
“They don’t know what it is to bury a baby.”
Family photoAccording to the British Medical Journal, six women in the United Kingdom have appeared in court in the past two years.
Before that, only three convictions for an illegal abortion had been reported since the introduction of the law in 1861.
Clea Harmer, director general of Sands, said: “The trauma of baby’s death and loss of pregnancy can last a lifetime.
“No parent who is pregnant or loss of baby should never be afraid to access the care they need.
“Many parents tell us that the loss of baby is difficult to speak openly, which has added to their pain. And recent discussions concerning police advice was painful to read for many bereaved parents.”
Dr. Ranee Thakar, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and gynecologists said that she was “very alarmed” by “the directives of the NPCC.
She added: “Women in these circumstances have the right to sympathize and respect their dignity and their privacy, so as not to seek their homes, phones, computers and health, or be arrested and questioned.”
The British Grossarcy Advisory Service, which provides abortions, added that it was “heartbreaking” to see such advice “in black and white”.
Katie Saxon, his head of strategic communications, said that the guidelines had allowed the police to “use period trackers and medical files against them” and was the “most clear sign for the moment that women cannot count on the police, the Crown prosecution service or the courts to protect them”.
The Wales women’s equality network said women “should not fear criminal surveys on already difficult and very personal choices around pregnancy”.
The NPCC stressed that the legislation was complex and varied through the United Kingdom and that it was only in the event that someone had told the police that there was a suspicion of crime that there would be an investigation.
He added that the police were encouraged to prioritize the mother’s physical, emotional and psychological needs about the need to investigate.
The four police forces in Wales each confirmed that there had been no surveys into this nature in their regions since the introduction of new directives.
