The Memo: MPs vote to decriminalise abortion in landmark reform of women’s reproductive rights

Prior to the Abortion Act 1967, abortion laws in England and Wales were governed by the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. Under this Act, to perform or receive an abortion was completely unlawful and those found guilty were “felons” and “to be kept in penal servitude for life.” Despite the undeniable social progress of the 1967 Act, until recently, women who undertook illegal abortions could still face life in prison. Now, a new amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill seeks to end that legal risk, reflecting a growing recognition of the complexities surrounding reproductive decision-making. The bill was proposed by Labour backbencher Tonia Antoniazzi who secured 379 votes in June, a landslide win against the 137 MPs who voted against the reform. This step forward comes after a rise in the number of women being investigated, arrested and prosecuted for terminating pregnancies illegally. 

For instance, back in May, Nicola Packer was cleared by a jury of unlawfully taking abortion pills in her home during the 2020 lockdown. The official accusation she faced of “unlawfully administering to herself a poison or other noxious thing with the intent to procure a miscarriage” is a direct quotation from the 1861 Act. She delivered a 26-week-old stillborn baby at home, reportedly unaware that she had passed the legal threshold of ten weeks for at-home treatment. A midwife at the hospital she visited reported her to the police, and she was arrested shortly after undergoing an operation. Another widely reported case involves a 20-year-old university student who was forced to take an illegal abortion pill by her abusive boyfriend. Though he suffered no legal consequences, she was sentenced to two years in prison. Since 2020, at least 100 women have been investigated for breaching the 1861 act. 

However, amendments made to the Crime and Policing Bill will not protect doctors who administer illegal abortions, as they may still face life in prison if convicted. One such case in Scotland involved a paramedic who secretly drugged his extra-marital lover using a syringe laced with abortion pills. He was sentenced to ten years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of sexual assault and causing an abortion without consent. 

These changes don’t affect the legal requirements for women to receive abortions via the NHS or any other regulated healthcare provider either. Women will still only qualify for a medical termination if they receive two doctors’ signatures and are under 24 weeks, unless their life is in danger, there are severe foetal abnormalities, or the woman is at risk of grave physical or mental injury. Terminations after ten weeks must still be carried out in an approved clinic or NHS hospital. So, to put it simply, the changes remove the consequences for women who illegally terminate their pregnancies, but don't necessarily make abortions any more accessible.  

While the success of this bill marks significant progress for female reproductive rights in the UK, abortion remains a controversial topic over in the US. Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, and this decision meant that individual states once again had the power to set their own rules on abortion. Thus, there is no longer a nationwide expectation or standard for female healthcare in America. Louisiana, for example, has enforced especially strict punishments on abortion and essentially treats it as homicide. This means that those who undergo an abortion may face life without the possibility of parole or even the death penalty. The decision could certainly have a knock-on effect on global reproductive rights. After all, when the initial Roe v. Wade decision was made, several countries adapted their own approach to abortion in line with the US; it’s certainly possible that such countries might turn their back on abortion laws in response to the 2022 ruling. 

The evolution of abortion legislation serves as a litmus test for broader questions of legal protection, statutory reform, and the correlation between criminal law and contemporary values. The UK’s amendment has passed a Commons vote but still needs to be scrutinised in the House of Lords before it can receive the Royal Assent.