Abortion decriminalisation plans pushed by Labour MP

A Labour MP has launched a bid to decriminalise abortions, aft campaigners revealed estimates that constabulary person prosecuted much than 100 women nether termination laws successful caller years.

Abortion remains a transgression offence successful England and Wales unless nether strict circumstances - including taking spot earlier 24 weeks into the gestation with the support of 2 doctors - nether a 164-year-old law.

Tonia Antoniazzi, Labour MP for Gower, tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to decriminalise the process without "changing thing astir proviso of termination care".

Antoniazzi said the existent concern was "unacceptable" and led to constabulary prosecuting susceptible women.

Nearly 60 MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Plaid Cymru person enactment their names to Antoniazzi's amendment.

MPs had been owed to statement akin amendments past year, but Parliament was dissolved for the wide predetermination earlier this could instrumentality place.

Last twelvemonth a BBC probe found an unprecedented fig of women are being investigated by constabulary connected suspicion of illegally ending a pregnancy.

Some investigations followed earthy gestation loss, the study by File connected 4 found.

Pregnancy nonaccomplishment is investigated lone if credible grounds suggests a crime, according to the National Police Chiefs' Council.

The contented was successful the quality again this week erstwhile Nicola Packer, 45, was cleared by a assemblage of "unlawfully administering" herself with termination pills astatine location during a coronavirus lockdown successful 2020.

She had taken prescribed termination medicine erstwhile she was astir 26 weeks pregnant, beyond the ineligible bounds of 10 weeks for taking specified medicine astatine home. She told jurors she did not realise she had been large for much than 10 weeks.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said Ms Packer's proceedings demonstrated "just however outdated and harmful" existent termination instrumentality was and called for reform.

RCOG are among respective royal aesculapian colleges, charities and commercialized unions backing Antoniazzi's amendment.

Records collected by the UK's largest termination services person recovered astatine slightest 100 women person been investigated for having an termination successful the past 5 years.

Of those, six person appeared successful tribunal according to information collected by British Pregnancy Advisory Group (Bpas), National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory Service (NUPAS) and MSI termination services.

Antoniazzi said: "There is simply nary satellite successful which prosecuting a susceptible pistillate who whitethorn person experienced a aesculapian complication, miscarriage oregon stillbirth is the close people of action."

She said her amendment, laid earlier Parliament connected Tuesday, is "tightly drawn - not changing thing astir proviso of termination care, the clip limit, the close to conscientious objection oregon immoderate different aspects of termination law".

She added: "I americium assured that, erstwhile Parliament has the accidental to ballot connected these proposals, my colleagues volition hold that ne'er again should a pistillate beryllium prosecuted for ending her ain gestation successful England and Wales."

The amendment follows repeated calls to repeal sections of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

Abortions were wholly amerciable nether 19th Century instrumentality until it was modified by the 1967 Abortion Act, which initially allowed them to instrumentality spot up to 28 weeks. This was reduced to 24 weeks successful 1990.

Abortions aft 24 weeks are allowed lone if:

• the woman's beingness is successful danger
• there is simply a terrible fetal abnormality
• the pistillate is astatine hazard of sedate carnal and intelligence injury

Since 2018, women successful England person taken the 2nd termination pill astatine home, aligning the rules with Scotland and Wales.

Though the aforesaid rules use successful Scotland, it has a chiseled healthcare and ineligible system.

Abortion laws are presently nether reappraisal successful Scotland pursuing appeals from advocacy groups' to decriminalise the process.

Abortion was decriminalised successful Northern Ireland successful 2019.

Latest figures show determination were 251,377 abortions recorded successful England and Wales successful 2022 - the highest fig since the Abortion Act was introduced and an summation of 17% implicit the erstwhile year.

About 88% of recorded abortions took spot earlier 10 weeks, aft which the process indispensable beryllium carried retired successful an approved session oregon NHS hospital.