UK votes to decriminalise abortion after prosecutions of some women

UK votes to decriminalise abortion after prosecutions of some women

After being concerned that women who end a pregnancy are prosecuted, British parliamentarians have voted to end abortion in England and Wales.

A broad-based bill that would prevent women from facing criminal penalties under an outdated law was approved by the Commons on Tuesday.

According to current laws, a woman can still face criminal charges if she refuses to end her pregnancy after 24 weeks or without the consent of two doctors. This is in addition to the currently permitted maximum sentence of life in prison.

The amendment passed 379-137. The anticipated crime bill must now be passed by the House of Commons before it can be delayed but unaffected before it is sent to the House of Lords.

The amendments were introduced by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, a member of Parliament who introduced one of them, and said the change was necessary because police have investigated more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions over the past five years, including some who had miscarried and stillbirthed naturally.

Because women are vulnerable and require our assistance, she said, “This piece of legislation will only remove them from the criminal justice system.” What public interest serves this, exactly? This is cruelty, not justice, and there must be an end to it.

Women can now terminate their own pregnancies at home within the first ten weeks thanks to changes in the law that were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A few well-known cases have been the subject of prosecutions for women who illegally obtained abortion pills and used them to end their own fetus after 24 weeks.

Nicola Packer was found not guilty in May after taking abortion medication at around 26 weeks, exceeding the legal 10-week mark for doing so at home.

The 45-year-old told the jury that she had been pregnant for so long during her trial, which was held following a four-year police investigation.

Source: Aljazeera