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Japan Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
UK lawmakers vote to decriminalize abortion amid concern about the prosecution of women
FILE - A Union flag is displayed outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, Thursday, May 23, 2024.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File) By BRIAN MELLEY and DANICA KIRKA British lawmakers voted Tuesday to decriminalize abortion in England and Wales after a lawmaker argued that it was cruel to prosecute women for ending a pregnancy. The House of Commons approved an amendment to a broader crime bill that would prevent women from being criminally punished under an antiquated law. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour member of Parliament who introduced one of the amendments, said the change was needed because police have investigated more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions over the past five years, including some who suffered natural miscarriages and stillbirths. 'This piece of legislation will only take women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need our help,' she said. 'Just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end.' The amendment passed 379-137. The House of Commons will now need to pass the crime bill, which is expected, before it goes to the House of Lords, where it can be delayed but not blocked. Under current law, doctors can legally carry out abortions in England, Scotland and Wales up to 24 weeks, and beyond that under special circumstances, such as when the life of the mother is in danger. Abortion in Northern Ireland was decriminalized in 2019. Changes in the law implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic allow women to receive abortion pills through the mail and terminate their own pregnancies at home within the first 10 weeks. That has led to a handful of widely publicized cases in which women were prosecuted for illegally obtaining abortion pills and using them to end their own pregnancies after 24 weeks or more. Anti-abortion groups opposed the measures, arguing it would open the door to abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy. 'Unborn babies will have any remaining protection stripped away, and women will be left at the mercy of abusers,' said Alithea Williams, public policy manager for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, which describes itself as the UK's biggest pro-life campaign group. The debate came after recent prosecutions have galvanized support to repeal parts of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. In one case, a mother of three was sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2023 for medically inducing an abortion about eight months into her pregnancy. Carla Foster, 45, was released about a month later by an appeals court that reduced her sentence. Judge Victoria Sharp said that case called for 'compassion, not punishment' and there was no useful purpose in jailing her. Last month, a jury acquitted Nicola Packer on a charge of unlawfully self-administering poison or a noxious thing with intent to procure a miscarriage. Packer, who took abortion medicine when she was about 26 weeks pregnant, testified that she did not know she had been pregnant more than 10 weeks. Supporters of the bill said it was a landmark reform that would keep women from going to prison for ending their pregnancy. 'At a time when we're seeing rollbacks on reproductive rights, most notably in the United States, this crucial milestone in the fight for reproductive rights sends a powerful message that our lawmakers are standing up for women,' said Louise McCudden of MSI Reproductive Choices. A second amendment that would have gone even further than Antoniazzi's proposal, barring the prosecution of medical professionals and others who help women abort their fetuses, did not get to a vote. A competing Conservative measure that would have required an in-person appointment for a pregnant woman to get abortion pills was defeated. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Ya Libnan
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
UK suspends free trade talks with Israel and announces sanctions over West Bank settlers
Palestinians, struggling with hunger due to an Israeli blockade, wait in line to receive hot meals distributed by charity organizations in Jabalia Refugee Camp, in Gaza City, Gaza, May 17, 2025. BY BRIAN MELLEY AND SYLVIE CORBET LONDON- The U.K. suspended free trade talks with Israel on Tuesday and hit West Bank settlers with sanctions, less than a day after vowing 'concrete actions' if Israel didn't stop its new military offensive in Gaza . Pressure from close allies is mounting on Israel following a nearly three-month blockade of supplies into Gaza that led to famine warnings . Even the United States, a staunch ally, has voiced concerns over the hunger crisis. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the government couldn't continue talks on upgrading its existing trade agreement with an Israeli government pursuing what he called egregious policies in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. 'History will judge them,' Lammy said. 'Blocking aid. Expanding the war. Dismissing the concerns of your friends and partners. This is indefensible. And it must stop.' Israeli's ambassador to the U.K., Tzipi Hotovely, was summoned to the Foreign Office, where Middle East minister Hamish Falconer said he would call the 11-week blockade of aid to Gaza 'cruel and indefensible.' Separately, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc was reviewing an EU pact governing trade ties with Israel over its conduct of the war in Gaza. She said 'a huge majority' of member nations are 'very keen on sending this message that the suffering of these people is untenable.' She did not provide clear details on timing and mechanisms for review. Lammy said the U.K. was imposing sanctions on a further 'three individuals, two illegal settler outposts and two organizations supporting violence against the Palestinian community.' He said the illegal Israeli settlements were spreading across the West Bank 'with the explicit support of this Israeli government.' Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Oren Marmorstein, called the sanctions against West Bank settlers 'unjustified and regrettable' and said the free trade agreement negotiations were not being advanced by the U.K. anyway. While Lammy's words were welcomed by some in the House of Commons, others called for stronger action, suggesting economic sanctions against Israel and recognizing the state of Palestine. A handful of members shouted for him to call Israel's actions 'genocide,' though Lammy labeled it 'extremism' and 'monstrous.' Still others criticized the joint statement, saying it favored Hamas. 'Opposing the expansion of a war that has killed tens of thousands of children is not rewarding Hamas,' Lammy said. The U.K. announcement followed comments by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer , who called children's suffering in Gaza 'utterly intolerable' and repeated his call for a ceasefire. 'I want to put on record today that we're horrified by the escalation from Israel,' Starmer said. On Monday, Starmer joined French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in issuing one of the most significant criticisms by close allies of Israel's handling of the war in Gaza and its actions in the West Bank. The three leaders threatened to take 'concrete actions' if the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not cease its renewed military offensive and significantly lift restrictions on humanitarian aid. Netanyahu called the statement 'a huge prize' for Hamas. Starmer said a ceasefire was the only way to free the dozens of hostages Hamas still holds. He also called for increased shipments of humanitarian aid into Gaza, saying the basic quantity allowed by Israel is 'utterly inadequate.' 'This war has gone on for far too long,' Starmer said. 'We cannot allow the people of Gaza to starve.' While Israel allowed a first few trucks with baby food and desperately needed supplies to begin rolling into Gaza on Monday, U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher described it as a 'drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed.' Israel said dozens more trucks entered Tuesday. Israel initially received widespread international support to root out Hamas militants following the group's surprise attack that killed some 1,139 people, mostly civilians, on Oct. 7, 2023, and took 251 captives. But patience with Israel is wearing thin after more than 53,000 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. Israel's latest onslaught has killed more than 300 people in recent days, local health officials said. In recent weeks, Macron intensified diplomatic efforts to put pressure on Israel, urging a ceasefire and calling for lifting the blockade of humanitarian aid. Last month, Macron said France should move toward recognizing a Palestinian state, possibly in June when France and Saudi Arabia co-host an international conference about implementing a two-state solution. Macron, who has said that recognizing Palestine is not a ″taboo″ for France, last week suggested that revisiting the EU's cooperation agreements with Israel is on the table. Tensions between France and Israel have escalated after Macron called for stopping arms deliveries for use in Gaza in an October radio interview, prompting Netanyahu's criticism. France also sought to impose a ban on Israeli defense companies to prevent them from exhibiting weapons at the Euronaval trade exhibition. The U.S., France, the EU, the U.K. and Canada previously hit Israeli settlers and settler groups with sanctions for their involvement in violence against Palestinians and in illegal development in the West Bank. The measures expose the sanctioned people and groups to asset freezes and travel and visa bans. The Associated Press previously reported that these measures have had minimal impact as a deterrent. Settler attacks causing injury or death to Palestinians have surged since the Hamas attack in 2023 . Israel says it opposes settler violence and blames it on an extremist fringe. Palestinians say the Israeli army does little to protect them and that the attacks are part of a systematic attempt to expel them from their land. (AP)
