Bid in Lords to overturn move to decriminalise abortion for women

A landmark move to decriminalise women terminating their own pregnancies could be overturned as legislation is considered in the House of Lords.

In June, MPs in the Commons voted in favour of decriminalisation, with one saying it would remove the threat of “investigation, arrest, prosecution or imprisonment” of any woman who acts in relation to her own pregnancy.

Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi said at the time that she had been moved to put forward her amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill having seen women investigated by police over suspected illegal abortions.

But, with the Bill making its way through the Lords, an amendment has been tabled to remove the relevant clause.

In a statement issued through the anti-abortion Right to Life group, Conservative peer Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest, who has tabled the amendment, said decriminalisation was “an extreme social change for which there is no public pressure or demand, and could have tragic consequences for women”.

She described it as a “radical clause” which she said had been “added to the Bill after less than an hour of debate by MPs, and without the necessary scrutiny required for an issue of such seriousness”.

Peers could also vote on a bid to make it mandatory for a pregnant woman to have an in-person consultation before lawfully being prescribed medicine for the termination of a pregnancy at home.

Under the current law it is legal to take prescribed medication at home if a woman is less than 10 weeks pregnant.

The government changed the regulations during the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, to allow women to have medical abortions at home following a phone or video consultation.

This change was made permanent in 2022, so women can take pills at home for gestation of up to nine weeks and six days.

Tory peer Baroness Stroud, in a statement also issued through Right to Life, said her amendment to require an in-person appointment “would ensure medical professionals can accurately assess a woman’s gestational age, any health risks and the risk of coercion before abortion pills are prescribed”.

Abortion in England and Wales currently remains a criminal offence but is legal with an authorised provider up to 24 weeks, with very limited circumstances allowing one after this time, such as when the mother’s life is at risk or the child would be born with a severe disability.

Efforts to change the law to protect women from prosecution follow repeated calls to repeal sections of the 19th century law the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, after abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in 2019.

Under the amendment voted through in the Commons last year, it would remain the case that medics or others who facilitate an abortion after the 24-week time limit could still face prosecution if the change becomes law.

It is expected the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally – who is currently on day two of a six-day pilgrimage from London – will return to the capital to attend the debate and partake in any votes.

She has previously said while she believes women facing unwanted pregnancies “should not be prosecuted”, she feels “decriminalising abortion can at the same time inadvertently undermine the value of unborn life”.

Following the Commons vote last summer, as then-bishop of London, she said such “fundamental reform to this country’s abortion laws should not be done via an amendment to another Bill” but rather through “public consultation and robust parliamentary process to ensure that every legal and moral aspect of this debate is carefully considered and scrutinised”.

Louise McCudden, from abortion provider MSI Reproductive Choices UK, said: “Abortion is a common, essential healthcare service, and it is unacceptable that women in England and Wales are still being arrested and investigated on suspicion of ending their own pregnancies under a Victorian law created in 1861.

“We know from providing reproductive healthcare across six continents that criminalisation harms women and makes abortion less safe.

“The House of Lords now has a historic opportunity to end the threat of prosecution once and for all, pardon women who have been previously convicted and drop ongoing investigations. At a time when we are seeing rollbacks in reproductive rights around the world, most notably in the US, it’s encouraging that our parliament is standing up for women.”