A 21-year-old Northern Irish woman has been given a three-month suspended jail sentence for taking abortion pills she had purchased over the internet.

Terminating a pregnancy in Northern Ireland is illegal except in very limited circumstances, unlike in the rest of the UK.

The woman, who cannot be named under a court order, miscarried a male foetus - aged between 10 and 12 weeks - after taking two types of abortion pills she bought online in 2014.

Two of her housemates later found a foetus and blood-stained items in a bag outside their house and told police what she had done.

A post-mortem examination confirmed the foetus belonged to the woman.

Amnesty International (pictured are protesters in November last year) said it was 'appalled' by the conviction

But anti-abortion activist Bernardette Smyth said the sentence was unduly lenient and claimed the judge had seriously undermined the legislation

The woman, who was 19 at the time, could not raise the funds to travel to England for a legal abortion, so bought mifepristone and misoprostol pills online.

She pleaded guilty to two offences under Northern Ireland's abortion laws and was handed a three-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.

The sentencing judge told the court in Belfast on Monday the legislation was 150 years old.

Abortion drugs can be accessed in the rest of the UK, but should be taken under medical supervision.

The maximum penalty for the crime of administering a drug to induce miscarriage under the relevant law in Northern Ireland - namely the Offences Against The Person Act 1861 - is life imprisonment.

But this is thought to be the first case of its kind to come before a court.

Paul Bacon, the woman's barrister, told Belfast Crown Court his client felt 'victimised by the system'.

He said the woman now has a new baby with her partner and was 'trying to put her life back together again'.

Prosecutors in Northern Ireland have insisted it was in the public interest to bring the case to court.

The maximum penalty for the crime of administering a drug to induce miscarriage under the relevant law in Northern Ireland - namely the Offences Against The Person Act 1861 - is life imprisonment

The case has sparked a fresh row about the controversial abortion laws in Northern Ireland.

Both sides of the ever divisive debate have criticised the outcome, though for very different reasons.

While pro-choice campaigners have denounced the prosecution, pro-life advocates have insisted the sentence was too lenient.

Amnesty International said it was 'appalled' by the conviction.

Amnesty's Northern Ireland director, Patrick Corrigan, said: 'A woman who needs an abortion is not a criminal. The law should not treat her as such.

'This tragic case reveals, yet again, that making abortion illegal does not stop women in Northern Ireland needing or seeking terminations.

'Those who can afford it travel to England for the treatment they need - over 1,000 women make that journey from Northern Ireland every year.

'Those that can't afford it, as appears to be the situation in this case, may take medication in an attempt to terminate their pregnancy - without medical supervision or support.'

'Pro-life campaign group Precious Life has called for an appeal against the sentence, alleging it was unduly lenient.

But Precious Life director Bernadette Smyth claimed the judge had seriously undermined the legislation.

A woman who needs an abortion is not a criminal (Amnesty NI director Patrick Corrigan)

'The woman in this case accepts that she committed a crime by procuring her own abortion by purchasing abortion pills online,' she said.

'Precious Life is very shocked that this judge's sentencing was so manifestly lenient in respect of such a serious crime, and is very concerned that this court judgment could set a very dangerous precedent for similar cases.'

Ms Smyth said her group would be writing to Northern Ireland Attorney General John Larkin and Director of Public Prosecutions Barra McGrory to try and have the case referred to the Court of Appeal.

The case comes amid controversies over abortion worldwide, including in the US presidential race.

Republican presidential frontrunner and controversial candidate Donald Trump gave a series of contradictory answers to the question of whether a woman who has an abortion should be punished.