Pro-Life Leader Criticizes UK Bill That Would Decriminalize Abortion Up to Birth

The leader of international pro-life organization 40 Days for Life has voiced strong opposition to a controversial bill under consideration in the United Kingdom that would remove criminal penalties for women who terminate their own pregnancies at any stage.

In an exclusive interview, CEO Shawn Carney described the proposal as “absolutely absurd” and warned it could set a dangerous precedent throughout Europe, where abortion laws are typically more restrictive than in the United States.

“Typically, Europe is far more conservative on abortion than the United States. Most European countries regulate abortion to 12 weeks. England has 16. In some cases, they do late term, up to 24 weeks. But now they want abortion through all 40 weeks. And this just seems sort of out of nowhere,” Carney said.

The contentious provision, Clause 208 of the Crime and Policing Bill, is currently in its final stages in the House of Lords, with a vote expected as early as Wednesday. If approved, the bill would return to the House of Commons for final revisions before receiving Royal Assent to become law.

Under the proposed legislation, women in England and Wales would no longer face criminal investigation, arrest or prosecution for ending their own pregnancies, regardless of gestational age. This marks a significant departure from the current law, which sets a 24-week threshold for most legal abortions.

While the bill would exempt women from criminal liability, medical professionals and others who assist in performing abortions after 24 weeks without medical necessity could still face prosecution.

Several amendments have been proposed to Clause 208, including its complete removal, modifications to exclude late-term abortions, and adding requirements for in-person medical consultations to prevent “pills-by-post” abortion services.

Carney criticized these compromise attempts, arguing that the fundamental issue is the extreme nature of the proposal itself. “I think it’s insane,” he said. “I know what they’re trying to do, but you need to combat the laws by saying we’re not aborting children at 40 weeks.”

He pointed to what he sees as an inconsistency in pro-choice arguments about viability. “The left built an entire movement on being able to survive outside the womb with viability. Then, as science and medicine progressed, viability changed because we could do a lot for unborn children… Nobody’s ever said it was 40 weeks.”

While acknowledging that few people would seek abortions at 40 weeks, Carney expressed concern that the law would normalize abortion at earlier stages by removing social stigma. “What it does is it takes a little bit of a stigma away from abortions at 8, 10, 12, 16 weeks, because typically what we’ve seen in the U.S. is when you have states that say, ‘Hey, you’re going to have an abortion through all 40 weeks,’ what they do is say, ‘Well, okay, I’m not that bad. My abortion is not that bad because it’s only at 10 weeks.'”

The debate comes amid broader international discussions about abortion access and restrictions. While the UK considers expanding abortion protections, several U.S. states have enacted strict limitations following the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which overturned federal abortion protections.

Public health experts and reproductive rights advocates have argued that decriminalizing abortion improves safety and healthcare outcomes, while opponents like Carney maintain that it undermines the sanctity of life and could lead to ethical concerns about late-term procedures.

The bill’s fate remains uncertain as it navigates the final stages of the legislative process, with both supporters and critics mobilizing to influence the outcome of what has become one of the UK’s most divisive recent healthcare policy debates.