The UK is about to pass Europe's most extreme abortion law
Britain may soon have one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the world. Next week, the Commons will vote on amendments, proposed by Labour MPs Stella Creasy and Tonia Antoniazzi, to the Crime and Policing Bill that seek to decriminalise abortion up to the moment of birth.
In Britain, abortion is currently legal until 24 weeks of pregnancy. But for the pro-abortion lobby this isn't enough. A YouGov survey revealed that 70 per cent of MPs think women should not be liable for prison sentences if they have abortions outside current restrictions. Yet this is wildly out of step with public opinion. Just 1 per cent of British people support abortion up to birth.
How is such a wildly unpopular opinion on the verge of becoming law?
Let's rewind to 2020. The UK was in lockdown. Face-to-face appointments for abortions were suspended. Women were allowed to access over-the-phone appointments with clinicians and have abortion pills sent to them by post.
These pills can only be used legally until 10 weeks' gestation. But without an in-person appointment, there is no way of knowing how far along a pregnancy has progressed. And there is no way of preventing women who are well past 10 weeks – and even past the 24-week limit – from claiming, or being coerced into claiming, that they are less than 10 weeks pregnant. Due to the risks, this arrangement was intended to be temporary.
But in 2022, pro-abortion MPs hijacked an unrelated Bill to make pills-by-post permanent. Many people – including me – warned that this would lead to an increase in illegal abortions, dangerous late-stage terminations, coercion and undetected abuse. And we were right.
In June 2023, Carla Foster was found guilty of aborting her baby eight months into pregnancy. She was given abortion pills after claiming she was only seven weeks pregnant.
In December 2024, Stuart Worby was jailed after spiking a woman's drink with fraudulently-obtained abortion pills and ending the life of her unborn child.
In just 18 months after pills-by-post was introduced, some estimates suggest that more than 10,000 women had to receive hospital treatment after taking abortion pills at home.
These cases only exist because of pills-by-post, a scheme for which abortion providers enthusiastically campaigned. Before 2022, there were just three prosecutions for illegal abortions in 160 years. Yet instead of arguing for a return to face-to-face appointments, the abortion lobby is now capitalising on these prosecutions to convince MPs that women are being wrongly criminalised.
The consequences of full decriminalisation will be grim, with inevitable increases in coercion and medical complications. The experience of Victoria, Australia suggests we will see more babies born alive after failed 'DIY' late-term abortions, and a rise in sex-selective abortions.
Abortion is a sensitive issue and there is no public consensus on what the legal time limit should be. But in a society where human rights are respected and the vulnerable protected, it is unthinkable that there should be no consequences for ending the life of an unborn, fully-formed human child. Just moments after birth, such an action would incur life in prison.
MPs must not allow the unpopular obsession of a handful of activists to change the law. Stand up to the extremists – the public are behind you.
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