Latest news with #Bpas
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
London mayor reverses TfL ban on ads calling for abortion decriminalisation
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has stepped in to reverse a ban on adverts on the London transport network calling for abortion to be decriminalised. It is understood that the mayor is seeking an 'urgent review' of a Transport for London (TfL) decision to ban the adverts from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) charity on the grounds they may bring the Metropolitan police into disrepute. Bpas had placed the adverts in locations across England and Wales urging people to lobby MPs ahead of an anticipated parliamentary vote on whether to decriminalise abortion. The campaign posters, which have been approved by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), feature the anonymised stories of real women who have been investigated by police and in some cases prosecuted after a termination or pregnancy loss. Bpas was told in correspondence with TfL that it would not run the adverts because 'the proposed advertisement makes serious allegations about the police'. The transport body later said in a statement that the material 'did not comply with TfL advertising policy because it made negative references about the police'. The decision to ban the ads came despite TfL previously allowing pro-choice campaign material on buses across London, sponsored by Doctors for Choice and Abortion Talk and featuring the slogan 'abortion is healthcare, not a crime'. Last year, campaign material on assisted dying from Dignity in Dying was also approved to run on the network, including in Westminster tube station. Bpas had said it planned to appeal against the TfL decision 'at the highest levels' and asked for 'an immediate in-depth explanation' of the reasoning behind the rejection. A source close to the London mayor said: 'As chair of TfL, Sadiq is going to seek an urgent review of this decision. Women's voices must be heard.' It is understood that the mayor is expecting the transport body to act quickly and there to be acknowledgement of the fact that Bpas's campaign is aimed at changing the law, not criticising the police. Heidi Stewart, the chief executive of Bpas, said: 'This campaign was launched in support of Tonia Antoniazzi MP's amendment to the crime and policing bill, and we expect a vote in parliament in a matter of weeks. This is a pivotal moment for MPs to reform our abortion law and prevent more women from suffering the trauma and injustice of police investigations and the risk of criminalisation.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The amendment to the government's crime and policing bill would remove women from the criminal law related to abortion in England and Wales. It is backed by charities, trade unions and medical colleges, including Bpas and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. A separate amendment, put forward by the fellow Labour MP Stella Creasy, seeks to decriminalise abortion as well as write into law a human right to access abortion. Earlier, Antoniazzi said she was 'stunned' by TfL's decision to refuse to run the adverts on its network. 'The police cannot be trusted with abortion law – nor can the CPS or the wider criminal justice system,' she said. 'My amendment NC1 to the crime and policing bill will give us the urgent change we need to protect women.' She later said on X that she planned to write to Khan about the 'unacceptable' decision and on Sunday said she was 'really pleased' that the London mayor had stepped in. Stewart said: 'Ahead of the vote in parliament, it is absolutely vital that the voices of the women who have been so deeply harmed by the current law are allowed to be heard. We urge the mayor to take swift action and allow our charity to share these stories as a matter of urgency.'
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
TfL blocks ads calling on people to lobby MPs to decriminalise abortion
Transport for London has blocked adverts that urge people to lobby their MPs to vote to decriminalise abortion from running on its network because it claims they could bring the police and City Hall into disrepute. Parliament is expected to vote on whether to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in the coming weeks, with amendments tabled to the criminal justice bill seeking to change the law. The adverts from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) charity, which have been approved by the Advertising Standards Authority, have appeared on display boards across England and Wales. They feature anonymised case studies of women who have been investigated by police, and in some cases prosecuted, after terminations or pregnancy loss. 'The language is not inflammatory, derogatory or hateful,' Bpas said in a letter to TfL, seen by the Guardian. 'It is an accurate representation of real women's experiences. It is intentionally simple, to the point, with a clear democratic call to action.' In 2024, campaign material from Dignity in Dying was displayed on the TfL network, including in Westminster tube station. In the same year, it allowed pro-choice campaign material on buses across London, sponsored by Doctors for Choice and Abortion Talk, which featured the slogan 'abortion is healthcare, not a crime'. At the time, a TfL spokesperson said: 'We reviewed this advertising campaign against both our advertising policy and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) code, and it was found to be compliant.' Bpas said it had requested 'an immediate in-depth explanation of the decision to reject our material' from the transport body. In a response from TfL, also seen by the Guardian, Chris Reader, the organisation's head of commercial media, told the charity: 'The reason for the rejection is that the proposed advertisement makes serious allegations about the police. 'The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac) is a member of the GLA group and one of its functions is to hold the Metropolitan police service (MPS) commissioner to account for the police service in London.' He added that 'because Mopac's functions in respect of the MPS are to some extent regulatory', the 'nature of the copy could bring Mopac into disrepute, given its responsibilities in relation to the MPS'. Bpas's chief executive, Heidi Stewart, said the charity intended to appeal against the decision by the transport body. 'At a pivotal moment for abortion law reform in this country, TfL regulations have silenced the voices of women who have been left utterly traumatised by our archaic legislation and by those enforcing it,' Stewart said. 'This cannot be allowed to happen again. Women deserve to have their stories told – and the public has a right to hear them. We will be challenging this decision at the highest levels.' Tonia Antoniazzi, one of the Labour MPs putting forward an amendment aiming to change the law, said she was 'stunned' by the decision to ban the adverts from the network, adding it was an attempt to 'silence desperate women's voices and dodge accountability'. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion She added: 'In the last month, we've heard how police forced through the prosecution of a woman for abortion offences, have issued guidance telling police to search the homes of women who've had stillbirths, and that decisions about enforcement on abortion are made at the highest levels of the Met. 'It's not hard to see why they wouldn't want the public to know. It's not these women's stories that bring the police into disrepute – it's their own actions.' Antoniazzi's amendment, which would remove women from the criminal law related to abortion in England and Wales, is backed by charities, trade unions, and medical colleges, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists as well as Bpas. 'The police cannot be trusted with abortion law – nor can the CPS or the wider criminal justice system,' she said. 'My amendment NC1 to the crime and policing bill will give us the urgent change we need to protect women.' A separate amendment, put forward by another Labour backbencher, Stella Creasy, seeks to decriminalise abortion, as well as write into law a human right to access abortion. A TfL spokesperson said: 'The proposed advertisement did not comply with TfL advertising policy because it made negative references about the police.'
North Wales Chronicle
14-05-2025
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
Campaigners say women deserve better as they seek to decriminalise abortion
Organisations say more than 100 women are believed to have been investigated by the police in recent years under the current 164-year-old law, which sees abortion in England and Wales remain a criminal offence. It 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. A new amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, brought by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, stating that 'no offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy', has been backed by a number of groups including royal medical colleges, charities and trade unions. One – healthcare provider the British Pregnancy Advisory Group (Bpas) – said the change would do away with the threat of investigation, arrest, prosecution or imprisonment currently faced by some women. It insisted it would not change any law regarding the provision of abortion services within a healthcare setting, including the time limit, the grounds for abortion or the requirement for the approval of two doctors. It said anyone, including a medical professional, who assisted a woman in obtaining an abortion outside the law would remain liable for prosecution. Bpas said: 'For every woman who ends up in court, at least 10 others are subjected to prolonged police investigations which can prevent them from getting the mental health support they desperately need and which have resulted in existing children being separated from women whose cases never make it to court. Women deserve better.' Ms Antoniazzi said the current law is 'unacceptable', adding: 'There is simply no world in which prosecuting a vulnerable woman who may have experienced a medical complication, miscarriage or stillbirth is the right course of action.' She said her amendment, laid before Parliament on Tuesday, is 'tightly drawn – not changing anything about provision of abortion care, the time limit, the right to conscientious objection or any other aspects of abortion law'. She added: 'I am confident that, when Parliament has the opportunity to vote on these proposals, my colleagues will agree that never again should a woman be prosecuted for ending her own pregnancy in England and Wales.' The issue most recently came to the fore earlier this month with the case of a woman who took medication at home during a coronavirus lockdown in 2020. Nicola Packer, 45, was cleared by a jury last week of 'unlawfully administering to herself a poison or other noxious thing' with the 'intent to procure a miscarriage'. She had taken prescribed abortion medicine when she was around 26 weeks pregnant, beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks for taking such medication at home. She told jurors she did not realise she had been pregnant for more than 10 weeks. Following the trial, her friend said she had been 'persecuted' for a 'tragic accident', while the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (Rcog) claimed the trial showed 'just how outdated and harmful' current abortion law is as they backed calls for reform. The case of Carla Foster, jailed in 2023 for illegally obtaining abortion tablets to end her pregnancy when she was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant, eventually saw her sentence reduced by the Court of Appeal and suspended, with senior judges saying that sending women to prison for abortion-related offences is 'unlikely' to be a 'just outcome'. The amendment on decriminalisation is said to have the support of more than 60 cross-party MPs and backers hope for a vote on it as early as next month. The latest attempt follows repeated calls to repeal sections of the 19th-century law – the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act – after abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in 2019. MPs had been due to debate similar amendments removing the threat of prosecution against women who act in relation to their own pregnancy at any stage, but these did not take place after Parliament was dissolved last summer for the general election. It is expected a separate amendment could be published by a group led by fellow Labour MP Stella Creasy, to not only decriminalise abortion but to 'lock in' the right of someone to have one and protect those who help them. Ms Creasy last week said the law must be changed so that 'the right to choose is a human right', ensuring no repeat of 'such awful cases and victimisation of vulnerable women again'. The amendment would not cover Scotland, where a group is currently undertaking work to review the law as it stands there. Last month, Scotland's women's health minister, Jenni Minto, said she was 'disappointed' that some still have to travel to England for late-term abortions, amid concerns that women in Scotland can only have a termination after 20 weeks in cases where there is either a foetal abnormality or the woman's life is at risk. Louise McCudden, from provider MSI Reproductive Choices, said: 'No-one should face criminal prosecution for ending their own pregnancy. Our Victorian abortion laws are not only outdated, but inconsistent, with abortion now decriminalised in Northern Ireland but not in England, Wales, or Scotland. 'As one of the world's largest abortion providers, we're deeply concerned to see so many women face prosecution, even jail, in Britain.'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Campaigners say women deserve better as they seek to decriminalise abortion
Health professionals, charities and MPs are renewing efforts to decriminalise abortion, declaring that 'women deserve better' and should not face investigation under 'archaic' law. Organisations say more than 100 women are believed to have been investigated by the police in recent years under the current 164-year-old law, which sees abortion in England and Wales remain a criminal offence. It 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. A new amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, brought by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, stating that 'no offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy', has been backed by a number of groups including royal medical colleges, charities and trade unions. One – healthcare provider the British Pregnancy Advisory Group (Bpas) – said the change would do away with the threat of investigation, arrest, prosecution or imprisonment currently faced by some women. It insisted it would not change any law regarding the provision of abortion services within a healthcare setting, including the time limit, the grounds for abortion or the requirement for the approval of two doctors. It said anyone, including a medical professional, who assisted a woman in obtaining an abortion outside the law would remain liable for prosecution. Bpas said: 'For every woman who ends up in court, at least 10 others are subjected to prolonged police investigations which can prevent them from getting the mental health support they desperately need and which have resulted in existing children being separated from women whose cases never make it to court. Women deserve better.' Ms Antoniazzi said the current law is 'unacceptable', adding: 'There is simply no world in which prosecuting a vulnerable woman who may have experienced a medical complication, miscarriage or stillbirth is the right course of action.' She said her amendment, laid before Parliament on Tuesday, is 'tightly drawn – not changing anything about provision of abortion care, the time limit, the right to conscientious objection or any other aspects of abortion law'. She added: 'I am confident that, when Parliament has the opportunity to vote on these proposals, my colleagues will agree that never again should a woman be prosecuted for ending her own pregnancy in England and Wales.' The issue most recently came to the fore earlier this month with the case of a woman who took medication at home during a coronavirus lockdown in 2020. Nicola Packer, 45, was cleared by a jury last week of 'unlawfully administering to herself a poison or other noxious thing' with the 'intent to procure a miscarriage'. She had taken prescribed abortion medicine when she was around 26 weeks pregnant, beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks for taking such medication at home. She told jurors she did not realise she had been pregnant for more than 10 weeks. Following the trial, her friend said she had been 'persecuted' for a 'tragic accident', while the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (Rcog) claimed the trial showed 'just how outdated and harmful' current abortion law is as they backed calls for reform. The case of Carla Foster, jailed in 2023 for illegally obtaining abortion tablets to end her pregnancy when she was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant, eventually saw her sentence reduced by the Court of Appeal and suspended, with senior judges saying that sending women to prison for abortion-related offences is 'unlikely' to be a 'just outcome'. The amendment on decriminalisation is said to have the support of more than 60 cross-party MPs and backers hope for a vote on it as early as next month. The latest attempt follows repeated calls to repeal sections of the 19th-century law – the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act – after abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in 2019. MPs had been due to debate similar amendments removing the threat of prosecution against women who act in relation to their own pregnancy at any stage, but these did not take place after Parliament was dissolved last summer for the general election. It is expected a separate amendment could be published by a group led by fellow Labour MP Stella Creasy, to not only decriminalise abortion but to 'lock in' the right of someone to have one and protect those who help them. Ms Creasy last week said the law must be changed so that 'the right to choose is a human right', ensuring no repeat of 'such awful cases and victimisation of vulnerable women again'. The amendment would not cover Scotland, where a group is currently undertaking work to review the law as it stands there. Last month, Scotland's women's health minister, Jenni Minto, said she was 'disappointed' that some still have to travel to England for late-term abortions, amid concerns that women in Scotland can only have a termination after 20 weeks in cases where there is either a foetal abnormality or the woman's life is at risk. Louise McCudden, from provider MSI Reproductive Choices, said: 'No-one should face criminal prosecution for ending their own pregnancy. Our Victorian abortion laws are not only outdated, but inconsistent, with abortion now decriminalised in Northern Ireland but not in England, Wales, or Scotland. 'As one of the world's largest abortion providers, we're deeply concerned to see so many women face prosecution, even jail, in Britain.'
Sky News
14-05-2025
- Health
- Sky News
'Women deserve better': Fresh attempts to decriminalise abortion as campaigners say 100 investigated
More than 100 women are believed to have been investigated by the police in recent years under abortion laws, campaigners say, as they renew efforts to decriminalise the medical procedure. Health professionals, charities and MPs are saying "women deserve better" and should not face investigation under an "archaic" 164-year-old law, which sees abortion in England and Wales remain a criminal offence. The issue most recently came to the fore after a woman was cleared by a jury for ending her pregnancy during the COVID lockdown in 2020. Nicola Packer, 45, had taken abortion medicine when 26 weeks pregnant - beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks. She told jurors she did not realise she had been pregnant for more than 10 weeks. Following the trial, her friend said she had been "persecuted" for a "tragic accident". It 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. The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) is backing a new amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, brought by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, stating that "no offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy". The amendment would do away with the threat of investigation - or even imprisonment - some women face. Previous attempts to change the law had been set to go before parliament, but could not take place after parliament was dissolved last summer for the general election. Ms Antoniazzi supported Ms Packer during her recent trial, and said the current law is "unacceptable". "There is simply no world in which prosecuting a vulnerable woman who may have experienced a medical complication, miscarriage or stillbirth is the right course of action." 2:48 Law won't change time limit The latest attempt follows repeated calls to repeal sections of the 19th-century law - the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act - after abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in 2019. Bpas said the latest amendment would not change the law regarding provision of abortion services within a healthcare setting - including the time limit, grounds for abortion or approval of two doctors. Bpas said: "For every woman who ends up in court, at least 10 others are subjected to prolonged police investigations which can prevent them from getting the mental health support they desperately need and which have resulted in existing children being separated from women whose cases never make it to court. Women deserve better." A separate amendment, proposed by Stella Creasy, would not only decriminalise abortion but "lock in" the right to have one, and protect those who help. It follows the case of Carla Foster, who was jailed in 2023 for illegally obtaining abortion tablets to end her pregnancy. She later had her sentence reduced on appeal. Ms Creasy last week said the law must be changed so that "the right to choose is a human right", ensuring no repeat of "such awful cases and victimisation of vulnerable women again". Last month, Scotland's women's health minister, Jenni Minto, said she was "disappointed" that some still have to travel to England for late-term abortions, amid concerns that women in Scotland can only have a termination after 20 weeks in cases where there is either a foetal abnormality or the woman's life is at risk.
