The United Kingdom’s Decriminalization of Abortion: What the United States Can Learn from Abortion Criminalization in a Global Context

Rebecca Reingold, Paulina Macías Ortega
March 19, 2026

Yesterday, the United Kingdom voted to decriminalize abortion. In a 185-145 vote, the British House of Lords approved an amendment reforming a Criminal Code provision that regulates abortion in England and Wales. In the face of a recent uptick in prosecutions for miscarriages, stillbirths, and self-managed abortions, lawmakers have undertaken efforts to prevent women from being investigated, arrested, prosecuted, or imprisoned for terminating their own pregnancies.

The United Kingdom’s reform is part of a broader movement away from relying primarily on criminal law to regulate abortion care — a stark contrast to the vast expansion of criminal abortion laws in the U.S. in the wake of the Dobbs decision.

Continued: https://oneill.law.georgetown.edu/the-united-kingdoms-decriminalization-of-abortion-what-the-united-states-can-learn-from-abortion-criminalization-in-a-global-context/

19.03.2026

Commentary

1967 Abortion Act

Paulina Macías Ortega

Abortions at record high in England and Wales ‘driven by cost of living’

Providers and doctors say lack of access to contraception another reason for the 11% rise in procedures in 2023

Hannah Al-Othman
Thu 15 Jan 2026

The rising cost of living and a lack of access to contraception have driven another rise in abortion rates in England and Wales, providers and doctors said.

Government statistics released on Thursday showed that abortions increased by 11% in 2023 compared with the previous year.

The age-standardised abortion rate for women was 23.0 abortions per 1,000 residents, the highest rate since the Abortion Act was introduced in 1967.

Continued; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/15/abortions-record-high-england-wales-cost-of-living-contraception

15.01.2026

News

1967 Abortion Act

abortion rates in England

Dr Alison Wright

Katie Saxon

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

In Post-Roe America, Abortion Care Is Being Reborn From the Ground Up

A British doctor finds fear and legal chaos being transformed into a new, decentralized model of reproductive freedom

Sabrina Das
Jan 13, 2026

Along the broad, ceremonial expanse of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., its lanes framed by rows of evenly spaced trees, Amy Allina paused to remember how her career began. Years before she established herself as a consultant for reproductive rights nonprofits, she learned how to perform abortions with nothing more than a length of plastic tubing and a mason jar.

It was the early 1990s. She was part of a loose network of feminist health collectives — women who believed, with a conviction that feels almost radical now, that information belonged to everyone, especially when it concerned their bodies. A mentor taught her “menstrual extraction,” a low-tech method capable of removing the contents of the uterus in very early pregnancy. The procedure was performed in living rooms and kitchens, surrounded by friends. There were no machines, no metal instruments, no men in white coats.

Continued: https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/in-post-roe-america-abortion-care-is-being-reborn-from-the-ground-up/

13.01.2026

crisis pregnancy centers

Dr. Victoria Williams

self-managed abortion

Self-Managed Abortion; Safe and Supported project

shield laws

Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity

telemedicine abortion

UK – No complacency on access to abortion

20 September, 2025
Ali Brown

On Tuesday 17 June, Parliament voted through an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that, once law, ensures that people in England and Wales will no longer be open to prosecution for ending their own pregnancy.

This victory comes at a crucial time. Recent years have seen a 200% increase in criminal investigations and imprisonments for pregnancy loss, for both pregnant people and their partners. In the four-year period between 2020 and 2023, 11 cases concerning abortion reached a court, resulting in 5 convictions.

Continued: https://www.workersliberty.org/story/2025-09-20/no-complacency-access-abortion

20.09.2025

Crime and Policing bill

UK – Parliament takes a historic step toward decriminalising abortion—but the work isn’t over

The recent shake-up of abortion laws in England and Wales marks an important moment for abortion rights, but full decriminalisation remains essential

BMJ 2025; 389 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1348 (Published 30 June 2025)
Jayne Kavanagh, co-chair, Hayley Webb, co-chair

We welcomed the passing of amendment NC1 in parliament on 17 June, which will put a stop to the criminalisation of anyone who ends their own pregnancy in England and Wales. This is a landmark step forward for reproductive rights and justice. In recent years, increasing numbers of women have been investigated and prosecuted under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act.1 This Victorian-era law was enacted before women even had the right to vote and carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for “unlawful abortion.”

More than 100 women are believed to have been investigated since 2020 for allegedly ending or attempting to end their pregnancies outside the parameters of the 1967 Abortion Act, which set out legal exemptions for abortion.2 Many endured distressing and intrusive investigations, faced enormous legal costs, and suffered lasting psychological, financial, and reputational harm—repercussions that also deeply affected their families.

Continued: https://www.bmj.com/content/389/bmj.r1348

Fact Check: British MPs have not voted to legalise abortion up to birth

By Reuters Fact Check
June 25, 2025

British members of parliament have voted to decriminalise abortions for women, not legalise all abortion up to birth, contrary to online posts using the different legal terms interchangeably.

MPs backed a Crime and Policing Bill amendment, opens new tab on June 17 that would mean criminal penalties would no longer apply in England and Wales to women who abort their own pregnancies.

Labour MPs have voted in favour of legalising abortion up to birth," said a June 18 post, referring to the vote.

Continued; https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/british-mps-have-not-voted-legalise-abortion-up-birth-2025-06-25/

25.06.2025

1967 Abortion Act

anti-choice disinformation

anti-choice hypocrisy

anti-choice lies

Crime and Policing bill

Infant Life Preservation Act 1929

Offences Against the Person Act 1861

UK – Yes, Abortion Has Been Decriminalised, But The Law Needs To Go Further

By Nell Frizzell
21 June 2025

Around one in four women in the UK have an abortion during their lifetime. But that doesn’t mean abortion has been legal in this country; it hasn’t. Every person who has had an abortion has stepped into legal waters that are murky, if not outright dangerous. This week’s vote to decriminalise abortion, though the greatest reform to abortion laws in 60 years, still hasn’t legalised it; those one in four women still do not have true control over their bodies.

Under the Offences Against the Person Act, which came into power in 1861 (before women even had the vote, as many commentators have pointed out), as well as the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 (which criminalises later abortions), having or providing an abortion was a crime that could carry a life sentence. A life sentence. Do you ever just get the feeling that you’ve been living in an alternative universe? That black has been pink and water has in fact been solid all along? I do. Reading about the history of abortion law in this country is one the most extravagant exercises in bewilderment I’ve ever undertaken.

Continued: https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/abortion-law-change-uk

22.06.2025

Commentary

1967 Abortion Act

decriminalisation of abortion

Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929

Nell Frizzell

Nigel Farage

Offences Against the Person Act 1861

MPs vote to decriminalise abortion for women in England and Wales

June 17, 2025
Jennifer McKiernan

MPs have voted to change abortion legislation to stop women in England and Wales being prosecuted for ending their pregnancy.

The landslide vote to decriminalise the procedure is the biggest change to abortion laws in England and Wales for nearly 60 years.

Women who terminate their pregnancy outside the rules, for example after 24 weeks, will no longer be at risk of being investigated by police.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2le12114j9o

UK – In 1961, my abortion was unmentionable; why next week’s vote is important.

Diane Munday had an abortion in 1961. Here she explains to Sofia Fenton why she dedicated her life to reforming the law.

By Sofia Fenton and Diane Munday
16 June 2025

When the 1967 Abortion Act passed, I sat on the terrace of the House of Commons with my fellow campaigners and marked the moment with half a glass of champagne. Half because it was only a partial victory – I felt it was a necessary compromise but that the job was far from finished.

One in three women will have an abortion in her lifetime. Yet abortion has not been decriminalised. A woman must get the sign-off of two doctors. Two doctors who have likely never seen her before nor will they see her again but are strangers making one of the most important decisions of someone’s life. It was a requirement I opposed even in the 1960s – but it was the price of getting the bill through Parliament.

Continued: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/a65075635/diane-munday-abortion-bill/

16.06.2025

Opinion

1861 Offences against the Person Act

Everything you need to know ahead of an important UK vote on abortion next week

Under a Victorian law, abortion is still technically illegal in the UK – here's what is happening to fight that

By Marie-Claire Chappet
12 June 2025

Many living in the UK may be unaware that, though abortions can be accessed safely and legally in this country, abortion is – at least technically – still illegal. This is because of a preexisting law from 1861, a legal quirk that an upcoming parliamentary vote hopes to resolve.

All abortions that take place in the UK are only available under the 1967 Abortion Act, which sets out certain parameters – such as the time period in which one can have a termination and that requests must have medical approval. This means that any abortion which happens outside of these restrictions is a criminal act, subject to lengthy jail time. The 1861 law serves as the legal framework. The 1967 act is the exception.

Continued: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/culture-news/a65034495/uk-vote-on-abortion/

12.06.2025