Abortion decriminalisation set to be voted on in Parliament

Two extremely dangerous amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill are set to be debated and voted on in parliament on Tuesday 17 June, next week.

Amendment NC1, proposed by Tonia Antoniazzi MP, has the support of over 150 MPs. This amendment would decriminalise abortion right up to birth for any “woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy.” This would mean that there are no legal repercussions for using abortion pills well beyond the legal limit of 10-weeks’ gestation. It would allow abortion for any reason right up to birth, including sex-selective abortions.

Amendment NC20, proposed by Stella Creasy MP, has the support of over 100 MPs. This amendment would completely decriminalise abortion right up to birth no matter how the abortion is carried out or for what reason. It would remove the sections of the Against the Person Act 1861 which give legal protection to an unborn child. It would also repeal the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929. It would make it much more difficult to prosecute an abusive partner who causes the death of an unborn child. It would effectively legalise infanticide. It would even make it difficult to prosecute someone who deliberately kills a baby during delivery.

No place in a civilised society

If either of these amendments passes, it would be the biggest change to abortion law since abortion first became legal in 1967.

Last year, two amendments were proposed to the Criminal Justice Bill which would have decriminalised abortion up to birth. The calling of a General Election put a stop to that Bill, and hence to the progress of those amendments. The Christian Legal Centre argued in its submission to the Bill Committee that: “these amendments have no place in a civilised society, and are reckless as they relate to the life and dignity of the unborn child and its mother.” Similar comments could be made in relation to the new amendments set to be debated next week.

Amendment to reinstate in-person abortion consultations

Separately, there is also a positive amendment put forward by Dr Caroline Johnson MP. This is NC106, supported by over 30 MPs. This amendment would require an in-person consultation for an abortion, effectively ending pills-by-post abortions. Christian Concern campaigned vigorously against the introduction of DIY abortions at home which was originally introduced as an emergency measure during he covid pandemic. We challenged the legality of the decision in court and showed through a mystery client investigation that women can obtain these dangerous pills with false names, false gestation, false contact details and false GP registration data. There are no checks on who can obtain these pills.

We also found through Freedom of Information requests, that 1 in 17 women who take these abortion pills end up in hospital. The pills are therefore very far from safe to be distributed by telephone consultation.

Recent polling found that two-thirds of women back a return to in-person appointments, with only 4% in favour of the status quo. A return to in-person appointments would allow medics to check for any health risks and to check the gestational age and any risks of coercion. It would also mean that women cannot obtain or take these pills beyond the ten-week gestation limit.

Take action

All these amendments have been selected for debate on Tuesday 17 June.

Please write to your MP urging them to vote against amendments NC1 and NC20 which would allow abortion for any reason up to birth. Urge them instead to support amendment NC106 in order to protect women’s safety.

We will be holding a prayer rally outside parliament 4-7pm on Tuesday 17 June. Please join us at this crucial moment to seek God’s intervention and mercy to stop these amendments from passing. Last year a General Election stopped two similar amendments. We ask God for some similar intervention this time.