Labour MPs Propose Amendment to Decriminalise Abortion England, Wales

Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi has tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill aimed at decriminalising abortion in England and Wales, removing women from criminal liability under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929. This follows revelations that over 100 women have been investigated by police in recent years under archaic abortion laws, with several prosecutions leading to court cases including one high-profile trial in 2020 where a woman was acquitted after taking abortion medication beyond the legal limit during the COVID-19 lockdown. The amendment, supported by more than 50 cross-party MPs and backed by medical bodies like the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and charities such as the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, seeks to maintain current abortion care provisions while removing the threat of criminal sanctions against women themselves. Labour MPs Stella Creasy and Antoniazzi also propose changes to repeal sections of the 1861 law and introduce a human rights framework for abortion access, aligning England and Wales with Northern Ireland’s 2019 decriminalisation. Campaigners argue that the current law fosters fear, stigma, and unnecessary criminalisation of vulnerable women and that reform is vital to ensure safe, supportive healthcare free from prosecution. Opposition voices remain, but a free vote is expected as the amendment moves through Parliament, potentially marking the most significant abortion law reform in nearly six decades.