MPs vote to decriminalise abortions for women

MPs have voted 379 to 137 to back an amendment to take abortion out of English and Welsh criminal law for women in relation to their own pregnancies. Humanists UK has long been alarmed about the growing number of women facing police investigations for this. Today it has expressed delight at MPs standing up for vulnerable women.

Humanists UK Public Affairs Manager Karen Wright commented:

‘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.’

The amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill was put forward by Tonia Antoniazzi MP and co-sponsored by 180 cross-party MPs including many members of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG). APPHG Chair Lizzi Collinge MP was one of the primary sponsors. It was also backed by over 50 organisations including abortion providers such as BPAS and MSI and professional bodies such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Royal College of Midwives, and the British Medical Association, as well as Humanists UK.

The amendment will not change wider abortion law or existing time limits, so will not affect when abortions are available to women; it will only end women being investigated and prosecuted for ending their own pregnancy.

Since 2020, around 100 women have faced police investigations, six have faced court, and one has been sent to prison, on suspicion of illegal abortion offences. This high failure rate reflects the fact that many of these investigations have turned out to be into cases where women have complied with the law. Some have been into women who have had miscarriages. This has been highly distressing for the women involved. Recently, the National Police Chiefs’ Council issued guidance instructing officers to examine women’s digital devices, including period tracking apps, when investigating pregnancy loss.

This is because abortion is currently a criminal offence under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act (OAPA), as well as the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, which state that a woman procuring an abortion can face life imprisonment. Since 1967 the Abortion Act has created exceptions to the law, allowing women to legally and safely access abortions in certain circumstances and with the consent of two doctors. Although most women are able to access abortion services under this provision, those who do not – or who the authorities believe have not – can be prosecuted and face a life sentence as the abortion would take place outside of the Act.

Even where women do have an abortion outside of the terms of the 1967 Act, this can be because of confusion on their part as to how pregnant they are. Or where they knowingly do so, this may reflect the fact that they are highly vulnerable and experiencing mental health difficulties. Such women need compassion and support, not prosecution. Decriminalisation means they can get that – while still not legally permitting abortions outside of the provisions of the 1967 Act.

The Crime and Policing Bill will finish its journey through the Commons and then head to the House of Lords for further scrutiny, and if this provision remains unamended, it will come into force on the day the Bill becomes law. This will mean that women will no longer face police investigations for ending their own pregnancies at that time.