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Crime brief: 7 July 2023

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Recent judgments have highlighted the interaction between abortion time limits, criminal law & human rights, as David Walbank KC explains
  • Abortion and the criminal law.
  • No time limit on termination where child may be ‘seriously handicapped’.
  • Declaration of incompatibility refused.

The recent case of Carla Foster has brought the issue of abortion and the criminal law back onto the front pages. Foster, aged 44 years, was handed a 28-month prison sentence in June after she admitted to illegally procuring her own abortion at a late stage of the pregnancy. The case hit the headlines after she pleaded guilty to taking tablets, delivered through the post, in order to abort baby Lily, who was between 32 and 34 weeks’ gestation at the time.

Her prison sentence was immediately followed by a large-scale demonstration in central London. Protestors marched from the Royal Courts of Justice to Whitehall, carrying placards saying ‘Abortion is Healthcare’ and ‘Policing Our Bodies is the Real Crime’. The ultimate aim of some campaigners

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bell Yard Kysen—Liz Giles

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Bell Yard Kysen appoints senior legal PR and ex-government communications adviser, Liz Giles

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NEWS
The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, and Solicitor General, Andy Slaughter KC MP, marked the 25th anniversary of Pro Bono Week by joining lawyers, charities, students and parliamentarians at events celebrating voluntary legal work
A polished legal defence may owe more to artificial intelligence than legal merit—and creditors risk paying the price in delay and expense
Witness evidence can be compromised by AI before a solicitor sees the draft, leaving safeguards focused on authorship incomplete
Possession claims are entering a new digital era, with procedural traps awaiting practitioners who assume familiar rules still govern every step
The Environment Agency can prosecute offences beyond environmental legislation where proceedings support its statutory functions, the Divisional Court has confirmed
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