Blitz Bureau
BRITAIN’S Parliament voted on June 17 to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales to stop a growing number of women from being investigated by police for terminating pregnancies under legislation dating back to the mid-19th century.
For almost 60 years, abortion has been legal in England and Wales, though limited to 24 weeks ‘gestation and requiring two doctors’ approval. However, a Victorian-era law carried a potential life sentence for women who ended pregnancies beyond the 24-week limit.
Although convictions under this law have been rare in Britain, prosecutions rose after the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase followed a legal change that permitted abortion pills to be taken at home for pregnancies up to 10 weeks of conception.
Reuters reported that in a free parliamentary vote, where politicians were not bound by party directives, an amendment to cease all prosecutions for women terminating pregnancies received initial approval by a margin of 379 votes to 137. Medical professionals who assist women in obtaining an abortion outside the 24-week limit could still face prosecution.
The amendment is part of a larger bill moving through Parliament and could still be modified or rejected as it proceeds through the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Labour Member of Parliament Tonia Antoniazzi pointed out that the existing law had led to investigations against 100 women in the past five years. She noted these cases included women who had given birth prematurely or were coerced into abortions by abusive partners.
Antoniazzi told parliament, “Each one of these cases is a travesty enabled by our outdated abortion law. This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end.” However, some politicians cautioned against rushing the proposed amendment through parliament, warning of potential unintended consequences. Conservative Member of Parliament Rebecca Paul, for instance, stated that if the amendment became law, ‘fully developed babies up to term could be aborted by a woman with no consequences.'”
The amendment would revoke parts of a law passed in 1861 by a then all-male parliament that made deliberately ending a pregnancy a crime and stipulated that those who carried it out could be “kept in penal servitude for life”. A change to the law in 1967 permitted abortions in certain circumstances, but left the 19th century criminal prohibition in place. Between 1861 and 2022, only three women in Britain were convicted for illegal abortions, according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, an organization dedicated to improving women’s healthcare.
