Britain’s parliament voted to Decriminalise abortion in England and Wales on Tuesday. MPs of Britain’s parliament voted to change abortion laws to stop women from being prosecuted for stopping their pregnancy.
The House of Commons approved an amendment on Tuesday that would prevent the women of England and Wales from being criminally punished under a primitive law.
At present, women can face criminal charges for ending a pregnancy after 24 weeks, or without the consultation of two doctors. The women may face a maximum of life imprisonment under the current law.
The parliamentary vote took place when the UK police found the termination of pregnancies under legislation dating back to the mid-19th century. Criminal convictions for breaking the law are very rare in England. However, the number of prosecutions has increased vastly following the COVID-19 pandemic. In that period, there was a change in the UK law that pills can be taken at home to end a pregnancy within 10 weeks of conception.
The politicians of the parliament were not ordered to cast their vote along party lines. The lawmakers gave a fledgling approval for an amendment to stop prosecutions for women who end their pregnancy.
The medical practitioners who would help women to abort their pregnancies outside the 24-week limit may also face prosecution.
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who introduced one of the amendments, said that the change in the abortion laws was needed because police have investigated more than 100 women suspected of illegal abortion over the past five years. The number includes the women who faced natural miscarriages and stillbirths.
In May, Nicola Packer, 26, was acquitted after taking abortion medicines. Carla Foster was imprisoned for illegally obtaining abortion medications in 2023 when she was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant.
Labour MP said that this piece of legislation will take the women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need help.
Antoniazzi put forward the amendment, which was passed with the support of 379 lawmakers. 137 votes were cast against the amendment. The House of Commons now needs to pass the crime bill before it passes to the House of Lords. The bill can be delayed there, but it will not be blocked.
The amendment took place following increasing calls demanding change in the 19th-century law, as a massive number of women investigated, arrested, and jailed have increased over the past years.
According to a report, the framework for accessing an abortion will remain the same. These include the need for two doctors’ signatures and the time limit within which the abortion can be carried out.
If any doctor acts outside the law, he/she will face a prosecution threat. But the woman who aborts their pregnancy outside the law, for instance, after the time limit, buying abortion pills online, will not face arrest or prison.