How Welsh MPs voted on decriminalising abortion in Wales and England
How Welsh MPs voted on decriminalising abortion in Wales and England
28 of Wales' 32 MPs took part in the vote - you can see how your MP voted at the end of the article
MPs have voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales
(Image: Getty Images )
MPs have voted to change the law to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, making the most profound change to abortion law in almost 60 years. With a majority of 242, MPs voted in favour of decriminalising women terminating their own pregnancies.
Labour MP for Gower, Tonia Antoniazzi, brought the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill in front of the Commons, adding that she had been moved to advocate for a change in the law having seen women investigated by police over suspected illegal abortions.
Ms Antoniazzi said it would remove the threat of "investigation, arrest, prosecution or imprisonment" of any woman who acts in relation to her own pregnancy.
The Commons voted 379 to 137 to back the amendment. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
During the Bill's report stage, Ms Antoniazzi assured her colleagues the current 24-week limit would remain, abortions would still require the approval and signatures of two doctors, and that healthcare professionals "acting outside the law and abusive partners using violence or poisoning to end a pregnancy would still be criminalised, as they are now".
She also told MPs: "This is the right change at the right time. I implore colleagues who want to protect women and girls and abortion services to vote for new clause one. Let's ensure that not a single desperate woman ever again is subject to traumatic, criminal investigation at the worst moments in their lives."
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On issues such as abortion, MPs usually have free votes, meaning they take their own view rather than deciding along party lines. Justice minister and Pontypridd MP Alex Davies-Jones indicated that the Government was neutral on decriminalisation and that it was an issue for Parliament to decide upon.
Though the Government took a neutral stance on the vote, several high-profile Cabinet ministers were among the MPs who backed the amendment, including Energy secretary Ed Miliband, Work and Pensions secretary Liz Kendall, Transport secretary Heidi Alexander and Wales secretary Jo Stevens
Kemi Badenoch and many members of the Conservative frontbench voted against it, but shadow education secretary Laura Trott voted in favour.
Abortion in England and Wales currently remains a criminal offence but is legal with an authorised provider up to 24 weeks, with very limited circumstances allowing one after this time, such as when the mother's life is at risk or the child would be born with a severe disability. It is also legal to take prescribed medication at home if a woman is less than 10 weeks pregnant.
Efforts to change the law to protect women from prosecution follow repeated calls to repeal sections of 19th century law, the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, after abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in 2019. The measures to decriminalise abortion still need to complete their legislative journey through both the Commons and the Lords before they can become law.
The step was welcomed by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS). Heidi Stewart, chief executive of the charity, said: "This is a landmark moment for women's rights in this country.
"There will be no more women investigated after enduring a miscarriage, no more women dragged from their hospital beds to the back of a police van, no more women separated from their children because of our archaic abortion law."
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) said it was "horrified" by the vote.
Wales has 32 MPs with 28 representing Labour, three for Plaid Cymru and one Lib Dem.
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How all Welsh MPs voted on the amendment to decriminalise abortion in Wales and England:
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