British lawmakers have backed the most significant change to abortion law in decades, voting in favour of an amendment to decriminalise abortions up to the moment of birth.
Under current British law, abortion is technically illegal. Still, it is decriminalised during the first 24 weeks of a pregnancy and in some limited cases beyond if the life of the mother is in danger. Over a quarter-million abortions take place legally in England and Wales under this system a year.
However, on Tuesday afternoon, the MPs backed an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill by a margin of 379 MPs in favour to 137 against to decriminalise abortions at any time for women in England and Wales, the BBC reported. This would effectively end the ability of the state to prosecute women who intentionally end their pregnancies up to the moment of birth.
The legislation, put forward by left-wing Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, would not apply to doctors or others who assist in carrying out abortions without authorisation past the 24-week mark.
Antoniazzi told the parliament that “these women need care and support, and not criminalisation”.
“Each one of these cases is a travesty, enabled by our outdated abortion law,” she said. “Originally passed by an all-male parliament elected by men alone, this Victorian law is increasingly used against vulnerable women and girls.”
The move was criticised by pro-life advocates, including the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), which said that it was “horrified” by the vote.
SPUC public policy manager Alithea Williams said: “If this clause becomes law, a woman who aborts her baby at any point in pregnancy, even moments before birth, would not be committing a criminal offence.”
“Now, even the very limited protection afforded by the law is being stripped away,” she added.
The Antoniazzi amendment passed by the Commons on Tuesday did not go as far as a competing legislation from arch progressive Labour MP Stella Creasy, who also sought to amend the Crime and Policing Bill.
Creasy’s amendment, which did not make it to the floor for a vote, would have enshrined abortion access as a human right and eliminated all restrictions outlined in the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act.
Creasy has been one of the leading advocates for liberalising abortion in Britain and has been a major backer of the imposition of anti-free speech “buffer zones” to criminalise protests and even silent prayer outside abortion clinics in Britain.
While MPs voted to add the Antoniazzi amendment to the Crime Bill on Tuesday, the legislation still needs final approval from both the Commons and the House of Lords before it becomes law.
