‘Being a Mother Was a Dream’: Man Sentenced to Prison for Spiking Woman’s Drink, Inducing Miscarriage

A man in the U.K. has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after slipping abortion drugs to a pregnant woman without her knowledge or consent, inducing a miscarriage.

Stuart Worby, a resident of Dereham, Norfolk, was sentenced Friday for committing the horrific crime against an unnamed woman who was 15 weeks into her pregnancy at the time, The Guardian reported.

“This pain will never leave me knowing that this baby could have been my only chance to be a mother in this lifetime,” the woman said in a victim impact statement, noting she felt she “failed to protect” her unborn baby.

Listen to the latest episode of “Quick Start”

She added that, despite going “from fertility clinic to fertility clinic” since the ordeal in 2022, she has been unable to conceive again, telling the jury, “Being a mother was a dream to me.”

Prosecutor Edmund Vickers said it is “quite clear” the woman “wanted to have a baby.” He condemned the 40-year-old Worby’s actions as “deliberate, well-planned, and callous.”

“The victim, who had wanted to keep her baby, was unknowingly administered the pills and immediately had to go to the bathroom to be sick and had [diarrhea] and began bleeding,” explained authorities. “She then attended the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and, after enduring a number of hours of pain and blood loss, she suffered a miscarriage and had to have surgery.”

According to a statement from the Norfolk Constabulary, the man purchased doses of mifepristone and misoprostol — two abortion-inducing drugs — in July 2022 for about $600. He was aided in obtaining the drugs by Nueza Cepeda, a 39-year-old resident of Dereham.

The court concluded Cepeda was involved because of “pressure” and “badgering” from Worby. Cepeda was sentenced to 22 months in prison and suspended for two years due to her involvement in the crime.

Justice Joel Bennathan, during sentencing, said, “You are a selfish man and set about aborting the baby without [the woman] knowing.” In addition to his prison sentence, the judge issued an indefinite restraining order, barring Worby from contacting the woman.

Please be in prayer for the unnamed woman who lost her baby.