US Mum Jailed For Providing Abortion Pills

A US woman has been sentenced to prison for helping to end her teenage daughter’s pregnancy by giving her pills purchased online.

The (Bloomsburg) Press Enterprise reports that 39-year-old Jennifer Ann Whalen of Pennsylvania was sentenced on Friday to nine to 18 months behind bars after pleading guilty to performing an illegal abortion.

Whalen bought the pills from a European drug firm after the girl became pregnant, but did not want to have the child.

Whalen told authorities they couldn’t find a local clinic to perform an abortion, and the girl had no insurance to pay for a hospital stay.

The girl took the pills and wound up hospitalised with extreme abdominal pain.
Whalen’s attorney, Michael Banks, says his client understands “her decision was poor”.