British MPs have voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales meaning women will no longer be prosecuted for terminating their pregnancies.
Backbench Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi put forward an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that would see abortions decriminalised in England and Wales. The suggestion came after Antoniazzi said she had seen women unlawfully investigated by police over suspected illegal abortions.
Following a vote, it was revealed that the majority of MPs (379) favoured decriminalising abortion laws, compared to 137 who voted against it.
Currently, abortions in England and Wales are only classed as legal if they are signed off by two medical professionals and are carried out within a 24-week timeframe. Only in exceptional circumstances, such as the mother’s life being at risk or a major threat to the child’s health, can abortions be performed after this.
It is also legal for a woman to take prescribed medicine at home if they are less than 10 weeks pregnant.
However, the new amendment means women who terminate their pregnancy outside of the rules, for example after 24 weeks, will no longer be at risk of being investigated by the police.
Though Antoniazzi has said that healthcare professionals ‘acting outside of the law and abusive partners using violence or poisoning to end a pregnancy would still be criminalised, as they are now.’
The news has been welcomed by many, including the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS). Heidi Stewart, chief executive of the charity, said: ‘This is landmark moment for women’s rights in this country and the most significant change to our abortion law since the 1967 Abortion Act was passed.
‘There will be no more women investigated after enduring a miscarriage, no more women dragged from their hospital beds to the back of a police van, no more women separated from their children because of our archaic abortion law.’
Meanwhile, members of the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) don’t share the same optimistic tone. Alithea Williams from the not-for-profit said she was ‘horrified’ by the decision.
‘If this clause becomes law, a woman who aborts her baby at any point in pregnancy, even moments before birth, would not be committing a criminal offence,’ she claimed. ‘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.’
As it stands the change to the legislation still needs to make its way through both the House of Commons and Lords before it can be given Royal Assent.
Photo by Jasmine via UnSplash
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