The United Kingdom has taken a historic step toward reforming its abortion laws as the House of Commons voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, following mounting concern over prosecutions of women who ended pregnancies or experienced natural miscarriages.
The amendment, passed by a vote of 379 to 137, was attached to a broader crime bill and aims to remove women from the scope of criminal law in cases of abortion. Under current legislation, women could face prosecution for terminating a pregnancy after 24 weeks or without the approval of two doctors, with penalties theoretically extending to life imprisonment under laws dating back more than a century.
The move comes after police investigated more than 100 women in the past five years for suspected illegal abortions, with some cases involving women who suffered miscarriages or stillbirths. Campaigners and lawmakers argued that the criminalisation of vulnerable women was outdated, unjust, and disproportionately harmful.
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who introduced one of the amendments, said the change was long overdue. “This 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 issue gained national attention after several high-profile prosecutions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency measures had allowed women to receive abortion pills by post and terminate pregnancies at home within 10 weeks. But some women faced charges for taking the pills beyond the legal timeframe.
In one widely reported case, 45-year-old Nicola Packer was acquitted in May after a four-year investigation for taking abortion medicine at approximately 26 weeks, well past the legal limit. She told jurors she had not realised how far along she was. In another case, Carla Foster was sentenced in 2023 for ending her pregnancy between 32 and 34 weeks using abortion tablets, although her sentence was later suspended by the Court of Appeal.
The amendment must still progress through the broader crime bill, which is expected to pass in the Commons before moving to the House of Lords. While the Lords can delay the measure, they cannot block it.
If finalised, the reform will mark a turning point in women’s reproductive rights in the UK, where campaigners have long pushed for abortion to be treated as a healthcare matter rather than a criminal offence.