UK votes to decriminalise abortion in England, Wales, ending 1861-era law

UK MPs approved an amendment removing the threat of criminal prosecution for women seeking abortions outside the 1967 framework in England and Wales

UK lawmakers have voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, removing the threat of criminal prosecution for women who end their pregnancies, a move seen as a “crucial milestone” for reproductive rights.  The House of Commons passed the landmark amendment on Tuesday (local time) as part of a broader crime bill, with 379 MPs in favour and 137 against. Supporters say the change will protect vulnerable women from being prosecuted under a Victorian-era law. Abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in 2019, and campaigners have long urged similar reform in the rest of the United Kingdom.

 

UK abortion reform seeks to end 1861 law

Although abortion has been legal in England, Scotland and Wales since 1967, up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, or later in specific cases, the 1861 law has technically allowed prosecutions in cases that fall outside that framework. Specific high-profile cases in the UK spurred urgency for reform, with critics arguing that women were being penalised while undergoing deeply distressing situations. 

 

Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who introduced the amendment, said prosecutions under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act were outdated and inhumane. Over the past five years, police have investigated more than 100 women in England and Wales for suspected illegal abortions, including women who had suffered miscarriages or stillbirths.

 

“This piece of legislation will only take women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need our help,” Antoniazzi said during the debate. “Just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty, and it has got to end.”

 

UK backs abortion decriminalisation

In contrast to the UK’s decriminalisation; the US is witnessing growing restrictions. Since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health Organisation, states have enacted abortion bans—some with no exceptions after cardiac activity is detected (around six weeks).

 

Nineteen states now impose near-total bans, with others limiting abortions to six to twenty weeks. For instance, in Georgia, a brain-dead pregnant woman was kept on life support until delivering via C-section due to a strict six-week ban defining fetal personhood and offering limited exceptions.

 

The UK crime bill must now pass a final vote in the Commons before heading to the House of Lords, where peers may delay but not block it.