Members of Parliament in the UK are preparing for a landmark vote on an amendment that could decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, potentially reshaping the country’s legal landscape on reproductive rights for the first time in almost 60 years. At the heart of the debate is the proposal to remove abortion from the scope of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, which currently classifies abortion as a criminal offence punishable by up to life imprisonment. While the 1967 Abortion Act created exceptions that effectively legalised abortion under certain conditions, the older statute has never been repealed, leaving a legal grey area that has recently come under intense scrutiny.
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi has put forward an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill that would remove criminal penalties for women who end their pregnancies. The proposal has gained cross-party support from more than 170 MPs and has been endorsed by several prominent organisations, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service. Supporters of the amendment argue that decriminalisation is necessary to protect women from being prosecuted in deeply personal and often vulnerable situations. They note that women have been investigated and even jailed under current laws, highlighting the need to modernise the legal framework.
Importantly, the amendment does not seek to change clinical regulations or reduce the gestational limits for accessing abortion services. It would continue to require that abortions be provided under existing healthcare guidelines, but would prevent women from facing criminal charges for taking matters into their own hands. This would align the legal status of abortion in England and Wales more closely with that of Northern Ireland, which decriminalised abortion in 2019.
However, the proposal is not without opposition. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has raised concerns about potential unintended consequences, particularly the safety implications of more women possibly attempting abortions at home without medical oversight. Despite these objections, the government has indicated that ministers will be given a free vote, allowing them to decide based on personal conscience rather than party lines.
This vote is being widely viewed as a pivotal moment in the UK’s ongoing discussion about reproductive autonomy and women’s rights. If successful, it could pave the way for further reforms and provide a significant step toward ensuring that no woman is criminalised for making decisions about her own body.
