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Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Abortion rights activists say 'decriminalisation isn't enough' ahead of MP vote
As MPs gather to debate an e-petition calling for the decriminalisation of abortion on June 2, abortion rights campaigners explain why decriminalisation isn't enough to protect women After an e-petition calling for the decriminalisation of abortion received over 100,000 signatures, it's now been brought forward for a parliamentary debate on June 2. But some abortion rights campaigners are saying that decriminalisation isn't enough. At present, an abortion carried out after 24 weeks or without permission from two doctors is a punishable offence in the UK, with a potential sentence of life imprisonment. In December 2024, a petition was launched by campaigners to decriminalise abortion. It received 102,855 signatures, before being brought to the UK parliament. The petition stated: 'I am calling on the UK government to remove abortion from criminal law so that no pregnant person can be criminalised for procuring their own abortion.' The petition also pointed out that the UK is out of step with advice released by the World Health Organisation in 2022, which advises that medically unnecessary barriers to safe abortion, such as criminalisation, should be removed. The petition was delivered on April 28 to Downing Street, by the petition's creator Gemma Clark. She was joined by Katie Saxon and Lucy Ward from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), a charity leading the campaign for abortion law reform, and a woman who endured a police investigation after she was suspected of having an illegal abortion, as reported by BPAS. Katherine O'Brien, a spokesperson for BPAS, told The Mirror: 'In recent years, more than 100 women are believed to have been investigated by the police.' She continued: 'These include women who have experienced a late miscarriage or a stillbirth, and women who were pressured to take abortion medication by abusive partners. Women have been arrested straight from hospital wards, their homes searched, their children taken away, all under our cruel and archaic abortion law.' The Abortion Act was introduced in 1967 and allowed women to legally terminate a pregnancy up to 28 weeks with the certification of two doctors. In 1990, the limit was changed to 24 weeks. However, abortion law also falls under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, which carries a maximum life sentence. Elizabeth Walden, from MSI Reproductive Choices, told The Mirror why she believes the law is outdated. She said: 'Gender equality and medicine have both changed enormously since then. Our abortion laws should reflect today's common values and medical knowledge, not the opinions of men from nearly two centuries ago.' Labour MP Stella Creasy has put forward an amendment to the current lawwhich seeks to not only decriminalise abortion, but to put into law that access to abortion is a human right. Stella told The Mirror: 'Decriminalisation isn't enough. We need to make access to safe and legal abortion a human right as it is in Northern Ireland to protect services from politicians who are advocating restricting it.' In 2019, Northern Ireland repealed sections 58 and 59 of the 1861 Offences Against a Person Act, which meant that abortion was no longer an offence punishable by a life sentence. It is legal to have an abortion up until 12 weeks in Northern Ireland. Stella explained that her amendment aims "to help ensure women will be able to access a safe and legal abortion whoever is in power." She continued: "It is the only amendment that can do that and stop not just the investigations into women having abortions but attacks on access including attempts to overturn buffer zones and telemedicine.' "Telemedicine" refers to the use of technology to provide and support healthcare remotely. In 2020, at-home abortion pills were legalised for the first time due to restrictions enforced during the Covid pandemic. In August of 2020, this change was made permanent. Under Stella's amendment, she seeks to protect anyone acting 'in relation to their own pregnancy', or a registered medical professional acting with the "explicit consent" of a pregnant woman where the pregnancy has not exceeded 24 weeks, to be subjected to a custodial sentence. Equally, she seeks to provide alternative offences in the case of women who have not or are suspected to have not consented to their abortion.
Daily Mirror
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Police could check period tracking app after pregnancy loss under new guidance
New guidance from the National Police Chiefs Council allows police to search your home, seize your phone and check your period tracking apps after a pregnancy loss Guidance quietly released by the National Police Chiefs' Council in January states that women who experience a sudden unexpected pregnancy loss, if they suspect a miscarriage, stillbirth or early labour is the result of an illegal abortion could be investigated by the police. According to the guidance, women could have their homes searched for evidence of abortion drugs and their phones seized for their search history, period tracking apps or fertility apps checked for evidence of whether they were aware of their pregnancy. A spokesperson for the NPCC told The Standard that an investigation would only be initiated where there is credible information to suggest criminal activity. They said: "This would often be because of concerns raised from medical professionals.' They also told The Observer that unexpected pregnancy loss was not 'routinely investigated' and 'any investigation of this nature will always be treated with the utmost sensitivity and compassion'. The Mirror has reached out to the NPCC for comment. The guidance comes in light of the Abortion Act, introduced in 1967, which allows women to legally terminate a pregnancy up to 28 weeks and with the certification of two doctors. The limit was reduced to 24 weeks in 1990. However, abortion is still classed as a criminal offence in Britain and women could be prosecuted under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. Under the law, there have only been three conviction achieved, but criminal investigations into women who have suffered from miscarriages or had a premature or a stillbirth have recently increased. Six women have been taken to court over the past two years and over 100 women have been investigated, according to a report by the Independent. Later this year, an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, brought by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi and signed by over 50 cross-party MPs seeks to decriminalising abortion and ending the prosecution of women who terminate pregnancies after the 24-week limit is due to be voted on in Parliament. But the recent guidance from the NPCC has raised concerns among pro-choice campaigners, abortion charities and period tracking apps alike, who have pushed back on the frightening development. Katie Saxon, Chief Strategic Communications Officer at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, told the Mirror that this is a "clearest sign yet that women cannot rely on the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, or the courts to protect them." She said: "As an abortion provider, we know how the police treat women suspected of breaking abortion law. But to see it in black and white after years of criticisms of the way this outdated law is enforced is harrowing. 'This guidance was written at the same time as unprecedented threats to global abortion rights and while Parliament was set to consider decriminalising women," Saxon added. 'The only way to stop this is to remove women from the criminal law on abortion.' Saxon also condemned the NPCC's guidance for the police to use period trackers against women and said that it proves just how "detached from reality" the organisation is. Rhiannon White, CEO of period tracking app Clue revealed that they were "shocked and outraged" at the development and assured the Mirror in a statement that they "have never, and will never, disclose private health data to any authority. It's our firm and relentless commitment since our founding over a decade ago." Similarly, Flo 's Vice President of Privacy, Sue Khan told us: 'Women deserve to be able to use technology to learn more about their bodies and their personal health, without fearing their data will be unjustly used or taken in a way they have not agreed upon." If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Sands (stillbirth and neonatal death charity). You can call them on 0808 164 3332 or email helpline@ You can also find help and support at the Miscarriage Association. You can call them on 01924 200799 or email If you are pregnant or a new mother and you are in crisis, the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides free, confidential support 24/7 in English and Spanish. Call or text the hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262).
Cosmopolitan
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Cosmopolitan
Police told how to search a woman's home and her phone for evidence she's had an abortion
As anti-abortion groups in the UK step up their tactics and women's rights are being rolled back globally, the National Police Chiefs' Council has issued guidance in the UK telling officers how to search women's phones, menstrual-tracking apps and homes following a pregnancy loss, if they're suspected of having had an illegal abortion. Branding the guidance 'harrowing' and flagging concerns that police did not consult with abortion providers before issuing it, Katie Saxon, Chief Strategic Communications Officer at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said, "As an abortion provider, we know how the police treat women suspected of breaking abortion law. But to see it in black and white, after years of criticisms of the way an outdated law is enforced, is harrowing. "To write it without any public conversation or discussion with experts, to tell police to use women's period trackers and medical records against them, to tell them to evade the restrictions of medical confidentiality shows just how detached from reality the NPCC are." Saxon labelled the guidance as the "clearest sign yet that women cannot rely on the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, or the courts to protect them – the only way to stop this is to remove women from the criminal law on abortion." Due to an old Victorian law dating back to 1861, women can face up to life in prison for having an abortion if certain strict criteria is not met, as outlined in the Abortion Act of 1967 (which made terminating a pregnancy legal in some specific circumstances). Cosmopolitan UK, along with BPAS and more than 30+ other women's rights groups and healthcare organisations, is currently calling for MPs to scrap 1861 in an upcoming vote, believing women deserve compassion not prosecution – and that abortion is healthcare, and should not be tied in with the law. For much of recent history, nobody was investigated in relation to having had a suspected abortion. But in the last two years, six women have appeared in court under the basis of this law and healthcare providers report that the number of women being investigated is the highest it's been in decades. Leading abortion providers say they have received hundreds of requests from police for private patient data in recent times. The new guidance could further fuel a "culture of hostility and suspicion towards abortion and pregnancy loss", added Louise McCudden, MSI Reproductive Choices' UK Head of External Affairs. "To publish such draconian guidance about a legal medical procedure, without input from abortion providers or the wider medical community, shows an alarming disregard for the real world implications for the women involved. "When you have unjust, Victorian laws that govern women's bodies, it's no surprise that this leads to unjust regressive policing that overrides women's bodily autonomy." Many women who are investigated are vulnerable, with experts in the field pointing out they could be victims of domestic abuse, seeking an abortion as they simply cannot afford a child during the cost of living crisis, and/or are suffering with serious mental health issues. When asked about the new guidelines for officers, a National Police Chiefs' Council spokesperson said it is not routine for police to investigate unexpected pregnancy loss. "An investigation is only initiated where there is credible information to suggest criminal activity, and this would often be because of concerns raised from medical professionals. Each case would have a set of unique factors to be assessed and investigated depending on its individual circumstances." The spokesperson added, "It would be at the discretion of the senior investigating officer leading the case to determine which reasonable lines of enquiry to follow. "We recognise how traumatic the experience of losing a child is, with many complexities involved, and any investigation of this nature and individuals will always be treated with the utmost sensitivity and compassion. There is no standardised policy to investigate illegal abortions. Police will always work closely with health partners to prioritise the welfare of everyone involved." Responding to the news, Rhiannon White, founder of Clue, a popular menstrual cycle app, told Cosmopolitan UK that it would not comply with data requests from the police, and reminded users of the app to set up a pin, FaceID or fingerprint access on their phones. She also sought to highlight how women can request for their data to be deleted from Clue, or an equivalent app, at any time. "We have never - and will never - share health data with authorities. We will aggressively challenge any such requests and will never allow our members' data to be used against them," White explained, adding that the Clue team have been shocked and outraged to learn that UK police have been issued such guidance. "We have spoken loudly on this subject, particularly in the US since Roe Vs Wade was overturned in 2022. This same position applies to every region around the world," White adds. "As a business, we have built our foundations on protecting women's rights to data privacy, body autonomy and health equity." Along with 30+ other women's rights groups and healthcare organisations, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and leading abortion care providers BPAS and MSI, Cosmopolitan UK is calling for urgent abortion law reform. We believe abortion is healthcare – and should never be criminalised. If you'd like to support the campaign, you can learn more here. Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC's Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women's Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
