Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi has launched a fresh attempt to decriminalise abortions in England and Wales. She tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, calling for the removal of criminal penalties without changing abortion access or time limits.
The move comes after campaigners revealed over 100 women have faced police investigations under current abortion laws in the last five years. Of those cases, six women have appeared in court.
Antoniazzi described the law as outdated and harmful. She stressed that her amendment does not alter medical regulations or affect the 24-week legal time limit.
The push for reform gained urgency following the case of Nicola Packer. A jury recently cleared her of unlawfully administering abortion pills during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. She had taken prescribed medication while unknowingly 26 weeks pregnant—well past the 10-week limit for home use.
Antoniazzi argued such prosecutions are unacceptable. She said: “There is simply no world in which prosecuting a vulnerable woman who may have experienced a complication, miscarriage, or stillbirth is the right course of action.”
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists supported the amendment. They said the Packer case showed how harmful the current law remains. Other supporters include major medical colleges, charities, and trade unions.
The amendment seeks to decriminalise abortions by repealing sections of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. That Victorian-era law still underpins abortion prosecutions in England and Wales.
The 1967 Abortion Act softened the law by allowing abortions up to 28 weeks, later reduced to 24. Abortions after 24 weeks are legal only in extreme cases such as serious risk to life or severe fetal abnormalities.
Nearly 60 MPs from across all major parties have signed Antoniazzi’s proposal. The group includes Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green, and Plaid Cymru members.
Parliament failed to debate a similar amendment last year due to the general election. Antoniazzi said this time the proposal is tightly focused and widely supported.
She added, “I am confident that, when Parliament has the opportunity to vote on these proposals, my colleagues will agree that never again should a woman be prosecuted for ending her own pregnancy in England and Wales.”
Since 2018, England has allowed women to take the second abortion pill at home, aligning with Scotland and Wales. While Scotland follows the same rules, its legal framework remains separate. Abortion law reform is currently under review there.
Northern Ireland decriminalised abortion in 2019. England and Wales have yet to follow.
In 2022, England and Wales recorded 251,377 abortions—the highest since the 1967 Act. Nearly 88% occurred before 10 weeks.
The campaign to decriminalise abortions continues to grow, with MPs pushing to ensure no woman faces criminal charges for personal health decisions.
For more updates, visit London Pulse News.
