Write to peers to stop abortion decriminalisation

The House of Lords will soon be voting on an amendment to remove a clause in the Crime and Policing Bill which decriminalises abortion.

Please write to members of the House of Lords urging them to support this amendment.

Clause 208, which decriminalises abortion, was inserted into the Crime and Policing Bill after an amendment was passed in the House of Commons last June, following just 46 minutes of debate.

The House of Lords recently debated decriminalises abortion decriminalisation earlier when some powerful arguments were made against decriminalising abortion. The bill is due to enters Report Stage from 25 February when there are expected to be votes on various amendments.

An amendment by Baroness Monckton proposes to remove clause 208 from the bill. If passed, this would stop abortion being decriminalised as threatened.

Another amendment by Baroness Stroud proposes to put an end to pills-by-post by requiring that a woman has an in-person consultation before being prescribed abortion pills. Christian Concern led the opposition to DIY abortions when they were introduced as an emergency measure during the Covid pandemic. Pills by post cause serious safety risks to women, increase the risk of coercion and allow the pills to be misused for dangerous and illegal late-term abortions.

Requiring an in-person appointment would put an end to DIY abortions.

Abortion figures have soared since pills by post was introduced in 2020.

Please write to a peer asking them to vote in favour of these two important amendments to the Police and Crime Bill.

How to write to a peer

• Below these instructions is a list of names. Please click on the text that is closest alphabetically to your surname.
• You will then see a list of peers. Choose one or more of these members to write to.
• Click on their profile.
• On the left side of the page, click on the ‘contact information’ tab.
• You will see contact details for the peer you have chosen:
  • If the only email address supplied is contactholmember@parliament.uk, please write them a physical letter.
  • If the page shows a different email address, you can choose whether to write them by email or by physical letter. 
• Physical letters, particularly if carefully thought through and handwritten, can be highly effective.
• You can find information on how to properly address members of the House of Lords here.

Choose the surname closest alphabetically to your own to get started:

Adams | Arbuthnot | Bassam | Biggar | Botham | Brookeborough | Callanan | Cashman | Clement-Jones | Curran | Dobbs | Elliott | Fellowes | Freeman | Gohir | Grender | Hannan | Hayman | Hoey | Hunt | Jones | King | Lebedev | Lisvane | Mallalieu | McDonald | Monckton | Murray | Oates | Parminter | Ponsonby | Ravensdale | Roborough | Scott | Shinkwin | Spencer | Strasburger | Thomas | Turner | Walney | Wilcox | Wyld

Points to make in your letter

Please choose two or three points to make in your letter. Here are some points you could make.

In support of Baroness Monkton’s amendment to stop the decriminalisation of abortion by removing clause 208:

• Clause 208 will decriminalise abortion right up to birth for a women acting in relation to her own pregnancy.
• Clause 208 puts women at risk of life-threatening complications if they carry out late-term abortions.
• Clause 208 legalises sex-selective abortions right up to birth.
• Clause 208 removes legal protection for unborn children in the womb.
• Recent polling showed that most UK adults are opposed to decriminalisation of abortion.

In support of Baroness Stroud’s amendment to require in-person consultation prior to being given abortion pills:

• Telemedicine abortions have led to an increase in complications and women being rushed to hospital. FOI data revealed that 1 in 17 women require hospital treatment after taking these tablets at home. They are not safe for women.
• Telemedicine abortions leave women vulnerable to coercion and abuse.
• A study has shown that women can obtain these pills with false information meaning that abortions are carried out for illegal or dangerous reasons.
• An in-person consultation will help to prevent coercion and abuse and also check the gestational age and status and medical safety of taking abortion pills.
• Recent polling has shown that two-thirds of women support a return to in-person appointments with only 4% supporting the status quo.