Decriminalisation of abortion takes one step closer after historic vote

The decriminalisation of abortion is a step closer in England and Wales after MPs voted to include it in a major government bill.

The Crime and Policing Bill has passed through parliament, making it legal for women to end their pregnancy outside current legal limits.

MPs voted in favour of decriminalising women ending their own pregnancies by 379 to 137, a majority of 242.

At the moment, the law states that abortion in England and Wales is illegal with certain exceptions.

It is only permitted up to 24 weeks into the pregnancy, and two doctors must sign it off. The existing law can also require a woman to demonstrate her mental or physical health is at risk without an abortion.

This afternoon, MPs discussed two rival amendments that aimed to bring an end to criminalisation: Clause 1, tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, and Clause 20, tabled by her fellow Labour MP Stella Creasy.

It was Ms Antoniazzi’s amendment which was approved by parliament.

Clause 1 would stop women from being investigated, arrested, prosecuted or imprisoned for ending their own pregnancies.

However, it would retain punishments for medical professionals or violent partners who end a pregnancy outside of the current law, as well as the need for the approval and signatures of two doctors.

Explaining her approach to MPs, Antoniazzi said: ‘The reality is that no woman wakes up 24 weeks pregnant or more and suddenly decides to end their own pregnancy outside a hospital or clinic.

‘But some women, in desperate circumstances, make choices that many of us would struggle to understand. What they need is compassion and care, not the threat of criminal prosecution.’

She said it would bring England and Wales into line with Northern Ireland, Ireland, France, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Meanwhile, Clause 20 would repeal parts of an 1861 law that forms the foundation of current abortion law and take a much broader approach to decriminalisation.

In a recent parliamentary debate, Creasy argued her amendment ‘offers protection to all those involved in ensuring that women can access safe and legal abortions’.

Decriminalisation has been backed by organisations including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing and the Faculty of Public Health.

In the past three years, six women have appeared in English courts charged with illegally ending or attempting to end their own pregnancy.

Last month, 45-year-old Nicola Packer was found not guilty of having an illegal abortion after she took medication at home during the Covid lockdown.

Dr Ranee Thakar, the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: ‘Abortion is an essential form of healthcare and should be subject to regulatory and professional standards like other medical procedures, not criminal sanctions.’

However, some MPs voiced their opposition to changing the law in the recent debate on the issue.

DUP MP Carla Lockhart said the quarter of a million abortions carried out in the UK each year amounts to a ‘national tragedy’.

If decriminalisation was to go ahead, she said: ‘We would be de facto introducing abortion up to birth and reintroducing dangerous backstreet abortions.

‘That is not pro-women, and it renders the time limit redundant in a context where pills can be obtained without any reliable in-person gestational age check.’

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children says it is ‘horrified’ by the result of the vote.

Their spokesperson, Alithea Williams, said: ‘Our already liberal abortion law allows an estimated 300,000 babies a year to be killed. Now, even the very limited protection afforded by the law is being stripped away.

‘We call on the Lords to throw this undemocratic, barbaric proposal out when it reaches them.

‘We will never accept a law that puts women in danger and removes all rights from unborn babies.’

But Humanists UK said it was ‘delighted’ by the result, with spokesperson Karen Wright adding: ‘Thanks to every MP who voted in support changing the law to end the horror of women facing police investigations when at their most vulnerable. 

‘MPs today have made history in shaping a more humane law that prioritises treating women with compassion instead of suspicion in their hour of need.’

MPs face another vote on a major ethical issue this Friday, when the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – also known as the assisted dying bill – returns to the House of Commons for its third reading.

If the proposed legislation passes that all-important vote, it will move to the House of Lords for the next stage in the parliamentary process.

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