Newlywed woman accused of terminating pregnancy with pills ordered online

A newlywed woman has appeared in court accused of terminating her pregnancy by using tablets she ordered online.

The woman, 24, was six weeks pregnant when she took the pills, Sharjah Criminal Court was told.

A medical report found the Syrian had taken 15 tablets of Misoprostol, a medication which can be used to cause abortions.

The woman's husband said he was unaware of his wife ordering and using the tablets.

The woman denied the abortion charge in court, insisting she had only taken medication prescribed by doctors.

“I became pregnant towards the end of April this year. I visited a clinic in Sharjah where the doctor informed me I was pregnant,” said the woman.

After first seeing her doctor, she suffered bleeding which continued despite the use of prescribed medication.

Her husband took her to Al Qasimi Hospital in Sharjah, where the medical report found traces of the abortion pills in her blood.

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“I took her to the doctor three times then to the hospital, that’s it,” said the woman's husband.

Under questioning, she told police she ordered the tablets online but did not know it was illegal to do so.

However, under examination by prosecutors, she denied ordering or taking the tablets and said she only took the medication given to her by her doctor.

“When I visited [the doctor] suffering from abdominal pain, she gave me medicine and I only took that medicine,” said the woman.

Abortions in the UAE are legal only if the mother's life is at risk due to the pregnancy or if the foetus has a disorder that makes it incompatible with life, and the labour term is below 120 days. Abortion is illegal in all other circumstances in the country.

The next hearing will be later in September.