Latest news with #AbortionAct
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Calls for abortion law change grew louder as number of prosecutions rose
Calls for decriminalisation of abortions have been growing louder in recent years – in line with a growing number of women being prosecuted for terminating their pregnancies. Until 2022, it is believed that only three women had ever been convicted of having an illegal abortion in the 150 years since 1861, when the procedure was made illegal under the Offences Against the Person Act. But in the last four years, at least half a dozen women have found themselves in the dock of a crown court accused of ending their pregnancy, and dozens more have been arrested or investigated by police. Two high-profile cases in particular fuelled the calls for change. Carla Foster was jailed in 2023 for an illegal abortion, before having her sentence suspended a month later by the court of appeal. And just weeks ago, Nicola Packer was cleared by a jury after spending almost five years facing the threat of prison. Related: British women are being jailed under archaic abortion laws. MPs can act to end that this week | Frances Ryan Thirteen people, both men and women, made a first appearance at magistrates court charged with abortion-related offences in 2022, according to freedom of information data from the Crown Prosecution Service, compared with four people in 2019 and three in both 2020 and 2021. Data from about half of Britain's police forces showed at least 11 people were arrested in 2023 on suspicion of child destruction or inducing a miscarriage, including a 31-year-old woman in north Wales 'reported to have taken illicit substances to initiate an abortion'. There are several more known cases of women arrested in the past 18 months that are not included in the data. In the last parliament, Diana Johnson, now a Home Office minister, attempted to change the law by bringing an amendment to the previous government's criminal justice bill, but the 2024 general election meant the legislation never made its way through parliament. Parliament had already brought in a move towards more liberal abortion laws. In 2020 telemedicine brought the biggest reform to abortion provision in England and Wales since the 1967 Abortion Act, which set out the current framework by which terminations can be carried out. Instead of women seeking a termination in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy needing to take the first pill under medical supervision, they could receive both pills by post after a remote consultation. Although it was introduced as an emergency measure during the pandemic, telemedicine was made permanent in 2022, with MPs voting 215 in favour to 188 against. The same year, parliament also voted 297-110 to introduce safe access zones, commonly known as 'buffer zones' around clinics, to stop women seeking abortion care from being harassed by protesters. In 2019, Northern Ireland's abortion laws were also modernised, with terminations allowed up to 12 weeks, and later under limited circumstances. In a referendum in 2018, Ireland had also made abortion legal on request up to 12 weeks, and later if the foetus would be likely to die before or shortly after birth or if there is a risk of death or serious harm to a pregnant woman. In both Northern Ireland and Ireland, the culpability for a termination carried out outside legal time frames lies with anyone who assists a woman procure an abortion, rather than the woman herself. Both countries had also previously had some of the strictest abortion laws in the world, with terminations banned in almost all circumstances. In other parts of the world, change is moving in the opposite direction. In June 2022, the United States supreme court overturned the decision of Roe v Wade, and ruled there was no constitutional right to abortion. Laws are instead now decided state by state, with 19 of them either banning abortion or restricting access. Parliament's latest vote is unlikely be the last on the subject. Medics, lawyers, politicians and campaigners recognise that the 1967 act is in need of reform. Work to establish what a new framework should look like has already begun, but as Louise McCudden, UK head of external affairs at MSI Reproductive Choices, a reproductive health NGO, said: 'Getting abortion law reform right will take time, and we want to make sure we do that in a way that takes into account expert opinion, takes into account women's voices [and] human rights groups.' But, McCudden said: 'The women who are being investigated and facing prosecution and jail can't afford to wait.' And parliament's latest vote means that now there will be no more Carla Fosters, or Nicola Packers.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
MPs vote to decriminalise abortion in historic vote
MPs have voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales so that women cannot be prosecuted for terminating their pregnancy at any stage. The amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill passed by 379 yes votes to 137 no votes, making it the biggest shakeup to reproductive rights in almost 60 years. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who tabled the so-called "New Clause One" (NC1), said it would remove women from the criminal justice system in relation to their own pregnancies, ensuring they could not face investigation, arrest, prosecution, or imprisonment. She said the current "Victorian" laws had been used against vulnerable women, citing cases such as Nicola Packer, who was arrested and tried after she was . She was found not guilty in May. "Nicola's story is deplorable, but there are many others," Ms Antoniazzi said. Abortion in England and Wales is currently a criminal offence but it is legal with an authorised provider up to 24 weeks, with very limited circumstances allowing one after this time. It is also legal to take prescribed medication at home if a woman is less than 10 weeks pregnant. Ms Antoniazzi said NC1 "is a narrow, targeted measure" that won't change how abortion services are provided or the rules under the 1967 Abortion Act. She said: "The 24 limit remains. Abortions still require the approval of signatures of two doctors, and women would still have to meet the grounds laid out in the Act." That means that healthcare professionals "acting outside the law and abusive partners using violence or poisoning to end a pregnancy would still be criminalised, as they are now", she said. "This piece of legislation will only take women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need our help. "As I have said it before, and I will say it again, just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end." The change will not come into effect immediately as it has been added to the Crime and Policing Bill, which is still making its way through parliament. A separate amendment was also put forward by Labour MP Stella Creasy and went further by not only decriminalising abortion but "locking in" the right of someone to have one and protecting those who help them. Hers was not voted on because Ms Antoniazzi's passed, as expected. Conservative MP and Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh, speaking against both amendments, described them as "not pro-woman" and argued they "would introduce sex-selective abortion". MPs were given a free vote on the amendment, as it typically the case with matters of conscience. Recent cases re-ignite debate The issue of women investigated by police over suspected illegal abortions has been in the spotlight recently due to a number of high profile cases. Ms Packer was cleared by a jury last month after taking prescribed abortion medicine at home when she was around 26 weeks pregnant, beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks. At her trial, which followed more than four years of police investigation, she said she didn't realise she was so far along and she would never had taken the medication had she known. In the Commons, Ms Antoniazzi also cited the case of a young woman named Laura, who was jailed after she was forced to take illegal abortin medication by her abusive partner. The Gower MP said: "Laura nearly died from blood loss as a result of the illicit medication he had coerced her into taking. When she was arrested, her partner threatened to kill her if she told anyone of his involvement. Laura was jailed for two years. The partner was never investigated by police."
Metro
3 days ago
- Politics
- Metro
MPs decriminalised abortion — but your rights are still under threat
Women who've had late-term miscarriages are seeing police officers, not counsellors, by their hospital beds. At the same time, the leader of the fastest growing political party has called the 24-week abortion limit 'ludicrous'. This is the UK in 2025, because as Labour MP Stella Creasy recently put it: 'The Trump playbook is already here in our politics.' But tonight, MPs made a historic move, voting to finally decriminalise abortion in England and Wales after 60 long years. It represents a 'monumental change to our abortion law', says Katherine O'Brien, from the leading abortion provider BPAS. But let's not forget why it was needed; women's reproductive rights are under threat. 'Increasingly, women are being investigated by police under suspicion of illegally ending their own pregnancy, and this includes women who've experienced miscarriages, stillbirth and access to legal care, and the impact that can have on their lives, their family, is unimaginable,' O'Brien tells Metro. 'This vote will mean that will come to an end, and that is a huge, huge achievement.' Abortion is technically illegal in England and Wales under a piece of Victorian legislation, though in practice, termination is allowed up to 24 weeks (and in a few other circumstances) provided two doctors have signed it off, meeting the criteria of the 1967 Abortion Act. Two Labour MPs – Tonia Antoniazzi and Stella Creasy – tabled (slightly different) amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, both of which would decriminalise abortion in law, but not alter the access framework. In Creasy's version, access to abortion would become a human right, with women who access abortion outside of the framework – and those who assist them – decriminalised. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi's version is a little less hardline, maintaining criminalisation for doctors performing late-term or sex-selective procedures. The latter amendment was voted for by 379 MPs, with 137 voting no. In the past three years, six women have appeared in court in England charged with ending or attempting to end their own pregnancy outside abortion law. Abortion provider MSI Choices is aware of 60 criminal inquiries in England and Wales since 2018, compared to almost zero before. It's often the most vulnerable women who are affected. 'Women who have been investigated by the police include domestic abuse survivors, potential trafficking survivors, and women who have experienced miscarriages and stillbirths,' Louise McCudden from MSI Reproductive Choices UK tells Metro. 'At a time when they need compassion the most, they have been stigmatised and treated like criminals.' O'Brien has heard of harrowing tales through her work, including one recently of a woman who accessed abortion pills through a legal provider, believing she was earlier in her pregnancy than she was. 'She then went on to have a baby, who she now cares for, but is still being investigated by the police under suspicion that she illegally tried to end her pregnancy,' she says. She's spoken with another woman, Sammy, who considered termination, but decided to continue with that pregnancy. 'When she went into premature labour at home, she called the emergency services thinking that an ambulance would arrive, but actually it was the police that arrived first to search for evidence of abortion pills.' In January, the National Police Chiefs' Council quietly published new guidance on investigating women who experience sudden unexpected pregnancy loss. The guidance details how women can have their devices seized to search history – plus period tracking apps – to determine whether they knew they were pregnant and how far along. 'This is what's going on in our country right now,' O'Brien says. 'These are stories that you would expect to hear from Texas or Poland, not England in 2025, and while the numbers are small, they are growing.' Though abortion providers and pro-choice campaigners have almost unanimously backed the amendment, its need is a reflection of dark times. 'We're certainly seeing a rise in anti-choice activity around the world. It's being driven largely by the US,' McCudden says. 'We saw the reversal of Roe v Wade. We saw the re-election of Donald Trump in the White House, and before safe access zones were introduced, we saw a rise in hostile activity on the doorsteps of our clinics.' She believes anti-abortion groups in the UK have been 'emboldened' by the rollback of rights in the US – a sentiment echoed by Stella Creasy, who said she tabled her bill as a pre-emptive strike against a hypothetical Reform government. Last year, Nigel Farage called the UK's current 24-week abortion limit 'ludicrous'. 'I listen to my colleagues in America. I listen to their warnings,' Creasy told The News Agents podcast. 'What they say is, we really regret having not acted when we had the chance to protect abortion rights under Obama, because we knew if Trump got into power, even though he was saying that he wouldn't do this and it wasn't his agenda, he would.' Nobody can 'bind a future government', Creasy added, but decriminalisation sets an important precedent. As well as voting on decriminalisation, MPs also voted on whether to scrap telemedicine (pills by post) – a system that allows women to take abortion pills at home. The amendment, which didn't pass, was supported by a group of cross-party MPs, including Reform's Richard Tice. 'Even though decriminalisation is a huge step forward, what we have seen in parliament this evening is a concerted attack,' O'Brien says of the telemedicine amendment. She adds that tonight's change is 'a really important step', but 'this isn't the end.' More Trending 'There is still so much more to do to our abortion law into the 21st Century. It's still the case that two doctors need to sign off a woman's abortion – there's no other comparable procedure where two doctors need to approve your decision. Is that the framework that we believe suits women in 2025? Like Creasy, she also has concerns about what the rise of Reform might mean. 'This isn't a party line issue, but we are aware that Nigel Farage himself is anti-abortion and would like to reduce the limit. That is a concern, but that's why we have to remain vigilant, and that's why we have to make the progress that we can now, and absolutely it can't wait, because if we wait, we risk another government coming in that won't allow us to make the changes that we need to see.' 'We absolutely need to remain vigilant, because anti-abortion groups are well-funded, well-organised, and often they shout the loudest.' View More » MORE: I want to enjoy sex but I can't stop worrying about my breasts MORE: I've accepted the depressing reality of period tracking apps MORE: I thought I couldn't have kids until my 'surprise' Mounjaro baby Your free newsletter guide to the best London has on offer, from drinks deals to restaurant reviews.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Abortion prosecution horror as woman arrested in hospital while still bleeding
A law change aimed at decriminalising abortion in England and Wales was debated in the House of Commons after a string of women have faced prosecution and even jail Half a dozen women in England and Wales have recently faced prosecution after having an abortion, but after more than a century, this week could see a major change that allows women the right to choose. MPs debated in the Commons on a law change aimed at decriminalising abortion in England and Wales. While the Abortion Act in 1967 allowed access to abortion, the 1861 law - the Offences Against the Person Act - was not revoked. It means abortion was illegal, but allowed up to the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, and beyond then if the mother's life is in danger. Recent changes to the law, introduced in lockdown, have meant that women can access pills to terminate pregnancies under 10 weeks at home through the "pills by post" scheme. In 2022, the most recent available data, more than 250,000 abortions were reported, the highest figure since records began. However in the last five years, abortion providers have reported 100 requests for medical records from police officers in relation to suspected abortion offences, the BBC reports. Just last month, Nicola Packer, 45, was cleared by a jury after being accused of having an illegal abortion. In November 2020, when she was 26 weeks pregnant, she took an abortion medicine at home during the coronavirus lockdown, Isleworth Crown Court heard. Ms Packer, then 41, took the medications after they were prescribed over the phone due to lockdown restrictions. She delivered the baby and took her to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in a backpack the following day. Ms Packer said she hadn't realised how far along she was in her pregnancy, and expressed her "shock" at being pregnant given her age. She told the jury that if she had known she was more than 10 weeks, she wouldn't have gone ahead with the medication. Ms Packer had spent the night of November 7 in the hospital and had initially said she miscarried naturally. She had told two midwives the next day that she had taken abortion pills through the post, received from Marie Stopes, one of the largest providers of contraception and abortions. While recovering from surgery for a stillbirth and still bleeding, she was arrested at the hospital by police the same day. Prosecutors had picked apart her sex life during the trial, with it taking her four years to clear her name. Ms Packer is one of six women to be prosecuted for the crime since the end of 2022 under the Offences Against the Person Act, which, since its introduction in 1861, had only been used three times. In June 2023, a mum-of-three was jailed for more than two years for inducing an abortion after the legal limit. Carla Foster, 45, who became pregnant in 2019, had moved back in with her estranged partner at the start of lockdown whilst carrying another man's baby. The court heard she had sought to hide her pregnancy, which the judge accepted as "emotional turmoil". Ms Foster had a remote consultation before being prescribed the medication, and said she wasn't sure how far along she was. Stoke Crown Court heard she was between 32-34 weeks when she took the pills. Judge Mr Justice Edward Pepperall said it was a "tragic" case, adding that the defendant, who later pleaded guilty to administering drugs to procure abortion, was "wracked by guilt" and had suffered depression. Her 28-month sentencing outraged campaigners, with the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) saying it was "appalled" by the sentencing based on "archaic law". In January 2024, Bethany Cox, 22, was found not guilty of carrying out an illegal abortion on herself. On the eve of her trial, the prosecution dropped the case due to "evidential difficulties". Nicholas Lumley KC, for Ms Cox, said she had given birth in July 2020 at the end of the coronavirus lockdown. Whilst "in the throes of grief", the young woman, from Stockton, had been interviewed by police and was under police investigation for three years before being charged. Mr Lumley said it was "beyond regrettable" that she had suffered so extensively. In December last year, Sophie Harvey, 25, and her boyfriend Elliot Benham were given community orders after prosecutors accepted she did not illegally abort their baby. Meanwhile another woman, whose identity was protected, had her case dropped, with a judge saying he was "flabbergasted" to see it in court. Then there are the women whose names didn't make headlines, including a teenager who was arrested in front of her neighbours after having a late miscarriage, the Guardian reports, and cases of women who have been denied contact with their children whilst being investigated. Some women and girls who have had terminated pregnancies past the legal cut-off have been vulnerable, including victims of domestic violence. A BPAS spokesperson told The Guardian: 'We're aware of cases where the woman has been investigated, or even imprisoned, and nothing has happened to her abusive partner.' The harrowing case of Ms Packer put England and Wales' current abortion laws back into the spotlight, with the trial demonstrating "just how outdated and harmful" current abortion law was, according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Dr Ranee Thakar, the college's president, said: "As a doctor, I am acutely aware of how vital it is that women can access essential healthcare in a safe and supportive environment. "Restrictive abortion laws in England and Wales nurture an environment of fear, stigmatisation and criminalisation. Abortion reform is urgently needed, and now is the time for change." Two Labour MPs, Tonia Antoniazzi and Stella Creasy, tabled rival amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill. The aim was to prevent women from being investigated, prosecuted, or imprisoned for terminating their own pregnancies. Ms Antoniazzi has argued that the probes are "dehumanising and prolonged and the women forced to endure them are often extraordinarily vulnerable". She added: "The reality is that no woman wakes up 24 weeks pregnant or more and suddenly decides to end their own pregnancy outside a hospital or clinic. "But some women, in desperate circumstances, make choices that many of us would struggle to understand. What they need is compassion and care, not the threat of criminal prosecution." Meanwhile, Ms Creasy's rival amendment would position abortion access as a human right.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Have your say on if abortion should be decriminalised as MPs prepare to vote
Abortion laws in England and Wales could be set for a major shake-up as MPs debate decriminalisation in the Commons today. With the possibility of women no longer facing prosecution for ending a pregnancy, we want to know where you stand A law change aimed at decriminalising abortion will be debated in the House of Commons later today - and we want to know your feelings on the matter. It comes amid spiralling concern that more and more women are being investigated by police on suspicion of illegally ending a pregnancy. MPs are set to vote on decriminalising terminations after 24 weeks with or without approval from doctors in England and Wales, meaning women will no longer face prosecution. But do you think abortion should be decriminalised? Take our poll below. The proposed changes follow Labour MP Stella Creasy 's e-petition, which has racked up more than 103,000 signatures since its launch in December last year. It stated: 'I am calling on the UK government to remove abortion from criminal law so that no pregnant person can be criminalised for procuring their own abortion.' The petition also highlighted that the UK is not aligned with guidance issued by the World Health Organization in 2022, which recommends removing medically unnecessary obstacles to safe abortion, such as criminalisation. The proposed changes are reportedly widely supported, and MPs have now been granted a free vote on the matter - meaning they are not required to follow a party line when casting their vote. As it stands, all abortions after 24 weeks are illegal, with exception of limited circumstances. This includes the mother's life being at risk, or if the child were to be born with a severe disability. Do you think abortion should be decriminalised? Take our poll below. If you can't see it, click here The Abortion Act was introduced to Great Britain in 1967, and allowed women to legally terminate a pregnancy up to 28 weeks with the certification of two doctors. In 1990, the limit was changed to 24 weeks. This means that a woman who undergoes an abortion without the permission of two doctors – for example, by buying abortion pills online – can be charged with a criminal offence. The Act states that abortions must be carried out either in a hospital or licensed clinic. However, this was changed during the Covid pandemic in 2020, when at-home abortion pills were made available by post for people seeking to terminate their pregnancy in the first 10 weeks. So what are the proposed changes? Labour MP Tonia Antonizzi is calling for an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill in her attempts to decriminalise abortion at any stage by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy. Consequently ending the threat of investigation or imprisonment. Access to abortion would remain the same, as would time limits in healthcare settings, and patients would still need sign off by two doctors. Antoniazzi told the BBC: "The police cannot be trusted with abortion law – nor can the CPS or the wider criminal justice system. My amendment to the crime and policing bill will give us the urgent change we need to protect women." Katherine O'Brien, a spokesperson for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, previously told The Mirror: 'In recent years, more than 100 women are believed to have been investigated by the police.' Labour MP Stella Creasy told the Mirror that "decriminalisation isn't enough" and is putting forward a second amendment to make a woman's access to an abortion a human right. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will decide whether to select one or both amendments for a vote today.
