Historic Amendment Ends Criminalisation of Women Seeking Abortions

Last week, the House of Lords backed an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that will end the criminalisation of women seeking abortions in the UK, overturning a 164-year-old Victorian law. The historic vote has triggered a wave of misinformation and outrage from the British right, with many falsely claiming the change would legalise abortion “up to birth.”

Peers supported Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi’s amendment following a failed attempt by Conservative peer Baroness Monckton to strike it from the bill, which she labeled a “radical proposal.”

The changes mean women will no longer face prosecution or investigation for seeking an abortion outside the legal framework. Those previously convicted and jailed over such abortions are set to be pardoned and their records expunged.

This reform comes at a critical time. A 2024 BBC investigation found an “unprecedented” number of women in England are being investigated for illegally ending pregnancies – an offence that currently carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. These cases often involve vulnerable women subjected to traumatic police investigations.

What the Amendment Actually Does

Despite the heated rhetoric, the amendment does not alter the Abortion Act, which strictly regulates when and how abortions can be legally performed in the UK.

In England, Scotland, and Wales, abortion remains legal up to 24 weeks with approval from two doctors, though procedures after 10 weeks must be performed in approved clinics or NHS hospitals. Abortions after 24 weeks are still only permitted in extremely limited circumstances, such as serious fetal abnormalities or threats to the woman’s life.

Medical professionals still potentially face prosecution if they perform abortions beyond legal limits. The amendment simply shifts abortion from a criminal issue to a healthcare matter for the women involved.

The Misinformation Campaign

Despite these facts, senior politicians and right-wing commentators have spread alarming misinformation about the amendment’s effects.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, while describing herself as “pro-choice,” claimed decriminalising abortion for women “is too much” and expressed opposition to allowing women to abort “at the last minute, when a baby is completely viable.”

Former MEP Annunziata Rees-Mogg stated on GB News that the amendment “is basically allowing for backstreet abortions to be legalised,” with the channel falsely claiming it “allows for abortion up until birth.”

Lord Alton of Liverpool claimed, “This clause would in effect permit abortion on demand right up to birth,” while Reform UK’s Suella Braverman tweeted that “abortion up to birth is repulsive and a Reform UK government would reverse it immediately.”

More extreme voices joined the chorus, with far-right Britain First leader Paul Golding describing the move as “Satanic” and Charlie Downes of Restore Britain calling it “one of the darkest days in recent history for Britain.”

Setting the Record Straight

Healthcare professionals and advocacy groups have been quick to challenge these misrepresentations.

A spokesperson for Doctors for Choice UK, a group of UK-based clinicians campaigning for the decriminalisation of abortion, told Byline Times they were “delighted” with this “historic and urgently needed change” that would “end the intrusive investigation and prosecution of women for ending their own pregnancy.”

“A lot of misinformation has surrounded this vote,” they added. “This decision will bring no change to current legal gestation limits or have any impact on provision of abortion care, but will simply put an end to the criminalisation of those who may act outside of legal frameworks.”

Rachael Clarke, head of advocacy at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), explained: “The law change is simple – it says ‘For the purposes of the law related to abortion… No offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy.'”

“This small change does nothing to change the abortion time limit, the grounds for abortion, or the restrictions on doctors. All it does is prevent desperate and vulnerable women being arrested, charged, and – yes, in England and Wales even thrown in jail – for ending their own pregnancy.”

The Reality of Abortion in the UK

Statistical evidence further undermines the “abortion up to birth” narrative. Abortions performed at or after 20 weeks are extremely rare, representing just 1-2% of cases in England and Wales. BPAS analysis has found that one-third of women seeking later abortions do so because of serious fetal developmental issues, often in wanted pregnancies.

The most recent data from 2023 shows that nearly 99% of abortions take place before 20 weeks, with 90% occurring within the first ten weeks.

US Influence on UK Abortion Politics

The polarized debate around abortion rights in the UK is increasingly influenced by hardline forces from the American Christian Right, which has been exporting its anti-abortion playbook internationally following its success in overturning Roe v. Wade.

Amnesty International’s analysis of 65 anti-rights groups operating in the UK found they increased spending by 33% between 2019 and 2023, reaching £106 million. This includes 25 anti-abortion organizations, many of which are offshoots of US groups.

Investigations have revealed that US-based entities like the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and 40 Days For Life are fueling a new wave of anti-abortion activism in the UK, particularly among young people. Financial support for ADF’s UK branch has jumped 300% in the last five years.

Reform UK’s Nigel Farage has previously collaborated with the ADF and has expressed that it is “utterly ludicrous” to allow abortion up to 24 weeks. Abortion Rights UK recently warned that Reform UK is “fast becoming the political refuge for anti-abortion hardliners.”

The Human Impact

Lost in the political noise are the women at the center of this debate. As Doctors for Choice explained: “These women are often vulnerable, and the stories of their investigations are harrowing and dystopian. This week’s vote is a huge step forward in acknowledging that abortion is healthcare, not a crime, and a victory for common sense and compassion.”

BPAS’s Clarke added: “What we have seen is anti-abortion organisations shouting their claims without evidence, being amplified by the worst aspects of social media, and relying on people in power not to check their facts before sharing their outrage.”

“Politicians and others in public life need to do better than simply parroting the lines that come to them from the most rabid of anti-abortion organisations – the rights of British women rely on them.”