Women would no longer be prosecuted for terminating a pregnancy in England and Wales under a proposed shake-up of abortion laws.
MPs are set to get a free vote next week – meaning they will not be told how to vote by their party – on a change to the law.
It comes amid concern more women are being investigated by police on suspicion of illegally ending a pregnancy.
Abortion is illegal in England and Wales, most often prosecuted under a piece of Victorian legislation, the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861. But it is allowed up to 24 weeks and in certain other circumstances under the terms of the 1967 Abortion Act.
This requires two doctors to sign if off and even before 24 weeks requires a woman to testify that her mental or physical health is at risk.
An amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, aims to decriminalise abortion at any stage by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy, ending the threat of investigation or imprisonment.
The framework by which abortion is accessed would remain the same.
But abortions would only need to be signed off by two doctors – as the law currently demands – if the procedure takes place in a hospital or other healthcare setting.
Time limits would also still apply in healthcare settings.
“The police cannot be trusted with abortion law – nor can the CPS or the wider criminal justice system,” Antoniazzi said.
“My amendment to the crime and policing bill will give us the urgent change we need to protect women.”
Six women have appeared in court in England charged with ending or attempting to end their own pregnancy outside abortion law, in the past three years.
Last month, Nicola Packer, 45, was cleared by a jury of “unlawfully administering” herself with abortion pills at home during a coronavirus lockdown in 2020.
She had taken prescribed abortion medicine when she was around 26 weeks pregnant, beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks for taking such medication at home. She told jurors she did not realise she had been pregnant for more than 10 weeks.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said Ms Packer’s trial demonstrated “just how outdated and harmful” current abortion law was and called for reform.
The RCOG are among several royal medical colleges, charities and trade unions backing Antoniazzi’s amendment, which has been signed by 136 MPs so far, including Labour MPs, Lib Dems, Greens and a handful of Conservatives.
A rival amendment by Labour MP Stella Creasey, which would make accessing an abortion a human right, is backed by 101 MPs so far.
It seeks to decriminalise abortion up to 24 weeks, negating elements of the Abortion Act. It would also ensure that late-term abortions outside the Abortion Act did not result in prison sentences.
Creasy said her amendment would simply bring the rest of the UK into line with Northern Ireland, where abortion was decriminalised in 2019.
But some of Britain’s biggest abortion care providers have expressed concern about it being rushed through without proper scrutiny, saying it would effectively rip up the 1967 Abortion Act and could open the door to a whole debate about a woman’s right to an abortion.
Rachael Clarke, head of advocacy at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), warned that MPs should not be asked to back a “generational change” after just three hours of debate next week.
“For us, unfortunately, although we truly believe that we need overwhelming and generational change for abortion law, Stella Creasy’s amendment is not the right way to do it,” she told Radio 4’s Today programme.
BPAS is among the organisations backing Antoniazzi’s proposals.
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said both of the proposed amendments represent “the greatest threat to unborn children and their mothers since the Abortion Act”.
They urged supporters to lobby their MPs to vote against both proposals, warning that abortion “up to birth” could become possible under the changes.
MPs are likely to be offered a vote on one of the two amendments, with Labour, the Lib Dems and the Conservatives all saying their MPs will not be told to vote for or against the changes.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “It is important that women have access to safe and legal abortions on the NHS and this now includes taking abortion pills at home.
“This is an extremely sensitive issue and we recognise there are strongly held views on all sides of the discussion and by longstanding convention any change to the law in this area would be a matter of conscience for individual MPs rather than the government.”
The spokesman declined to say which way Sir Keir Starmer would vote on the issue, as it was a “matter of conscience”.
The 1967 Abortion Act initially allowed abortions to take place up to 28 weeks in England and Wales. This was reduced to 24 weeks in 1990.
Abortions after 24 weeks are allowed only if:
- the woman’s life is in danger
- there is a severe fetal abnormality
- the woman is at risk of grave physical and mental injury
Since 2018, women in England have taken the second abortion pill at home, aligning the rules with Scotland and Wales.
Though the same rules apply in Scotland, it has a distinct healthcare and legal system.
Abortion laws are currently under review in Scotland following appeals from advocacy groups’ to decriminalise the process.
