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

Why abortion rights in the UK are getting more and more perilous

Campaigners say confused health professionals are driving the increasing prosecutions of women. Others blame the police. But ultimately, the Crown Prosecution Service has questions to answer

Zoe Williams
Mon 19 May 2025

Earlier this month, Nicola Packer was found not guilty of illegally terminating a pregnancy, after taking abortion pills beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks. She had spent more than four years living in the shadow of this prosecution, every detail of which – as reported by Phoebe Davis – is completely harrowing. In 2020, Packer was arrested before she left Chelsea and Westminster hospital, still bleeding from major surgery.

Packer is one of six women to be prosecuted for this crime in England since the end of 2022, under the Offences Against the Person Act, which had previously only been used in such cases three times since its introduction in 1861. Even that striking, inexplicable figure doesn’t begin to describe how many people have fallen victim to these prosecutions. There have been cases of women denied contact with their children while police investigated a charge that came to nothing. A teenager who had a late miscarriage was arrested in front of her entire street – her privacy, her education, her peace of mind completely destroyed.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/2025/may/19/why-abortion-rights-in-the-uk-are-getting-more-and-more-perilous

UK abortion law is outdated, not evidence based, and prevents best practice

Hayley Webb: UK abortion law is outdated, not evidence based, and prevents best practice

We must build on the momentum of this year to ensure that women across the UK can truly have governance over their own bodies

October 30, 2018

There is an air of hopeful anticipation within the abortion rights movement. So far, 2018 has brought much cause to celebrate. In March, the 50th anniversary of the implementation of the Abortion Act marked 50 years of safe provision in the UK. Then in May came the landslide vote in favour of repealing the eighth amendment in Ireland. A victory undoubtedly in part due to the collective voice of Irish doctors who came forward in their hundreds to stand up for women, sharing their powerful stories from the frontline and debunking the abundant harmful abortion myths. June and August brought approval for home use of Misoprostol in England and Wales, meaning that women will soon be able to take the second pill for early medical abortion in the comfort of their own homes. This came as a legal challenge to home use in Scotland, which had led the way in 2017, was successfully defended.

Continued: https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2018/10/30/hayley-webb-uk-abortion-law-is-outdated-not-evidence-based-and-prevents-best-practice/