Decriminalisation is finally possible – but unless we future-proof the law against anti-abortion extremists, the right to choose hangs in the balance
Stella Creasy
Mon 12 May 2025
Opening the Pandora’s box of abortion reform is something no one should do without the confidence that they are able to manage the resulting chaos. Moves to decriminalise abortion, in response to the continued prosecution of women for having one, could unintentionally enable the restriction of access under a future regressive government. To prevent this and protect services, it is time to write into our statute that safe and legal access to abortion is a human right across our nation.
It still shocks many people to realise that in 2025 abortion is not actually legal for most of the UK. Only in Northern Ireland do women have a right to an abortion. Everywhere else they are exempted from prosecution if it is determined they have met certain access conditions. This is not a quaint jurisprudence debate – it is driving the explosion in recent years of investigations and prosecutions of women and girls for having abortions in England.
Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/12/britain-abortion-right-decriminalisation-law