By Euronews with AP
Published on
ADVERTISEMENTBritish lawmakers have voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, following concerns about the number of women who are investigated for terminated pregnancies.
The House of Commons approved an amendment — it passed 379-317 — to a broader crime bill that would prevent women from being criminally punished under an antiquated law dating back to the mid-19th century.
Abortion has been legal in England and Wales for almost six decades but only up to 24 weeks and with the approval of two doctors.
The amendment means that women who terminate their pregnancy after 24 weeks will no longer be investigated by the police. Medical professionals or anybody assisting a woman with an abortion outside outside the 24-week limit could still face prosecution.
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour member of Parliament who introduced one of the amendments, said the change was needed because police have investigated more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions over the past five years, including some who suffered natural miscarriages and stillbirths.
“This piece of legislation will only take women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need our help,” she said. “Just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end.”
The House of Commons will now need to pass the crime bill, which is expected, before it goes to the House of Lords, where it can be delayed but not blocked.
Under current law, doctors can legally carry out abortions in England, Scotland and Wales up to 24 weeks, and beyond that under special circumstances, such as when the life of the mother is in danger. Abortion in Northern Ireland was decriminalised in 2019.
Changes in the law implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic allow women to receive abortion pills through the mail and terminate their own pregnancies at home within 10 weeks of conception.
That has led to a handful of widely publicised cases in which women were prosecuted for illegally obtaining abortion pills and using them to end their own pregnancies after 24 weeks or more.
Prosecutions spurred reform
Anti-abortion groups opposed the measures, arguing it would open the door to abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy.
“Unborn babies will have any remaining protection stripped away, and women will be left at the mercy of abusers,” said Alithea Williams, public policy manager for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, which describes itself as the UK’s biggest pro-life campaign group.
The debate came after recent prosecutions have galvanised support to repeal parts of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act.
In one case, a mother of three was sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2023 for medically inducing an abortion about eight months into her pregnancy.
Carla Foster, 45, was released about a month later by an appeals court that reduced her sentence. Judge Victoria Sharp said that case called for “compassion, not punishment” and there was no useful purpose in jailing her.
Last month, a jury acquitted Nicola Packer on a charge of unlawfully self-administering poison or a noxious thing with intent to procure a miscarriage. Packer, who took abortion medicine when she was about 26 weeks pregnant, testified that she did not know she had been pregnant more than 10 weeks.
Supporters of the bill said it was a landmark reform that would keep women from going to prison for ending their pregnancy.
“At a time when we’re seeing rollbacks on reproductive rights, most notably in the United States, this crucial milestone in the fight for reproductive rights sends a powerful message that our lawmakers are standing up for women,” said Louise McCudden of MSI Reproductive Choices.
