MPs have backed a change to the law that could see abortion decriminalised in England and Wales for women in relation to their own pregnancies, in a move backed by the BMA.
A vote in Parliament on 17 June saw lawmakers endorse the NC One (New Clause one) amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, which could see an end to the threat of criminal investigation and prosecution of women who choose to terminate their pregnancy.
Put forward by Labour MP for Gower Tonia Antoniazzi, the NC One amendment seeks to remove women from long-standing legislation the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 in relation to their own pregnancies, which criminalise abortion.
The vote, which saw MPs vote 379 to 137 in favour of the amendment, will become law if the provision remains unamended by the Lords during its forthcoming scrutiny of the bill.
While the amendment will bring about decriminalisation of abortion in England and Wales for women, many other aspects of the provision of terminations will remain unchanged by any future law.
Vulnerable women
This includes a continuation of the 24-week time limit and the 10-week limit on telemedicine, agreed by Parliament in 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic, while abortions performed without consent would remain illegal.
Outlining her amendment as a ‘narrow, targeted measure’ that would leave the provision of abortion services under the 1967 abortion Act unchanged, Ms Antoniazzi reiterated that the aim of her amendment was to ensure vulnerable women were protected not prosecuted.
She said: ‘Although abortion is available in England and Wales under conditions set by the 1967 abortion Act, the law underpinning it dates back to 1861 [and] the offences against the person act.
‘Originally passed by an all-male Parliament elected by men alone, this Victorian law is increasingly used against vulnerable women and girls [and] since 2020 more than 100 women have been criminally investigated.
‘Women affected are often acutely vulnerable, victims of domestic abuse and violence, human trafficking and sexual exploitation, girls under the age of 18 and women who have suffered miscarriages and stillbirth or who have given birth prematurely, facing invasive and prolonged criminal investigations.’
She added: ‘New clause one is about recognising that these women need care and support and not criminalisation.’
Not a crime
Welcoming the vote, BMA medical ethics committee deputy chair Ed Frew described it as an important and vital step towards ending the persecution of women seeking terminations in England and Wales and ensuring abortion be viewed as a medical procedure not a crime.
He said: ‘The passing of this amendment is a significant and long overdue step towards reforming antiquated abortion law in England and Wales.
‘Women seeking an abortion can be in an incredibly vulnerable situation. They need access to timely and good quality healthcare and support, not to face questions from the police and be threatened with prosecution and up to a lifetime in prison.
‘The BMA has long been of the view that abortion is a healthcare matter, not one for the police and the criminal courts – this amendment and vote goes some way to recognising this.
‘Beyond this bill we will continue to push for wider reform of abortion law – including campaigning for the removal of criminal sanctions for medical professionals involved in abortions as part of their clinical practice and the removal of criteria for an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy.’
While abortion in the UK was legalised in specific circumstances under the Abortion Act of 1967, this law did not decriminalise abortion generally but placed strict requirements around the termination of pregnancy.
Life in jail
These include that women seeking a termination meet the prescribed criteria and that abortions must take place within a hospital and be approved and signed off by two doctors.
At present, any woman terminating a pregnancy without meeting the legal requirements stipulated by the 1967 Act faces potential prosecution and imprisonment up to a life sentence.
The UK-wide decriminalisation of abortion has been BMA policy since 2017, with MPs voting to end the criminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland in 2019.
The BMA is part of a coalition of leading medical bodies, healthcare providers and violence against women and girls’ groups led by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service.
In its briefing to MPs, the coalition warned that more than 100 women have, in recent years, faced police investigations on suspicions that they had had an abortion outside of the law.
One example cited was that of a woman who, after successfully resuscitating her prematurely born son, faced a 12-month investigation by police who suspected her of having attempted an illegal abortion.
Removing stigma
During that time, she was interviewed under caution, had her phone and computer seized and required to have supervised contact with her infant son.
In a briefing aimed at MPs published ahead of the vote, the BMA expressed its concern with the recent cases of women being subjected to police investigation and even prosecution following the termination of a pregnancy, warning that such an environment risked deterring patients from seeking needed medical care.
The briefing said: ‘Treating a common medical procedure as a crime (with exceptions) is stigmatising for both women and healthcare professionals who are providing a legal and necessary service.
‘Clinical care, professional practice, and societal attitudes have changed significantly since the enactment of the current criminal sanctions on abortion.
‘Abortion is a safe procedure for which major complications and mortality are rare at all gestations; it is, and should be treated as, a medical not a criminal issue.’
Find out more about the bill or the BMA’s position regarding decriminalisation