Abortion is set to be regulated as a health issue in England and Wales, instead of a criminal matter.
The lower house of the UK Parliament has passed a bill to decriminalise abortion, which would mean women won’t face criminal repercussions for having a medical abortion after 24 weeks.
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who proposed the bill, said the change will apply to fewer than 1% of abortions, which are conducted under “extreme circumstances”.
It still needs to pass the upper house.
UK abortion law
In the UK, abortions still fall under a Victorian-era (1861) law that forbids a person to “procure a miscarriage”.
Since 1967, women have been legally able to access termination procedures up to 24 weeks of pregnancy with the approval of two doctors.
Any abortion performed after this time period needs additional medical approval, showing risk to the mother’s life or serious risk of foetal anomaly.
If these rules aren’t followed, a woman faced up to life imprisonment under the 1861 legislation.
More than 100 women have been criminally investigated since 2020, one of whom was jailed.
Medical professionals can be criminally punished for assisting an abortion outside these rules.
The 1861 law only applies to England and Wales. Northern Ireland decriminalised abortion in 2019. Scotland is yet to expressly do the same, although prosecution is rare.
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Decriminalisation
Antoniazzi moved an amendment to remove the application of the 1861 legislation to abortions.
Her amendment read: “For the purposes of the law related to abortion, including [the 1861 law], no offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy.”
She cited cases of premature births where women were investigated by the police on suspicion of trying to terminate a pregnancy after 24 weeks.
Antoniazzi said: “Nearly 99% of abortions happen prior to 20 weeks, and those needing later care often face extreme circumstances.”
She said decriminalising abortions after this time recognises that “such women need care and support, not criminalisation.”
The vote passed the lower house 379 to 137, in what’s known as a “conscience vote”. This is where MPs are able to vote based on their personal beliefs, rather than the party line.
Reaction
Doctors for Choice UK welcomed the passage of the bill, saying it will remove “intrusive investigation, prosecution, and imprisonment”.
However, it noted some of the country’s laws remain “archaic”, saying “there is a risk of prosecution and imprisonment for those who… provide an abortion outside of legal stipulations”.
While most Labour MPs voted in favour of the change, 25 opposed it. One of the Labour MPs who voted against the legislation, Toby Perkins, called the decriminalisation law a “hell of a leap” from the current rules.
