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BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
MPs set to vote on decriminalising abortion in England and Wales
Women would no longer be prosecuted for terminating a pregnancy in England and Wales under a proposed shake-up of abortion are set to get a free vote next week - meaning they will not be told how to vote by their party - on a change to the comes amid concern more women are being investigated by police on suspicion of illegally ending a is illegal in England and Wales, most often prosecuted under a piece of Victorian legislation, the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861. But it is allowed up to 24 weeks and in certain other circumstances under the terms of the 1967 Abortion Act. This requires two doctors to sign if off and even before 24 weeks requires a woman to testify that her mental or physical health is at amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, aims to decriminalise abortion at any stage by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy, ending the threat of investigation or framework by which abortion is accessed would remain the abortions would only need to be signed off by two doctors - as the law currently demands - if the procedure takes place in a hospital or other healthcare setting. "The police cannot be trusted with abortion law – nor can the CPS or the wider criminal justice system," Antoniazzi said. "My amendment to the crime and policing bill will give us the urgent change we need to protect women."Six women have appeared in court in England charged with ending or attempting to end their own pregnancy outside abortion law, in the past three month, Nicola Packer, 45, was cleared by a jury of "unlawfully administering" herself with abortion pills at home during a coronavirus lockdown in 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for more than 10 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said Ms Packer's trial demonstrated "just how outdated and harmful" current abortion law was and called for RCOG are among several royal medical colleges, charities and trade unions backing Antoniazzi's amendment, which has been signed by 136 MPs so far, including Labour MPs, Lib Dems, Greens and a handful of Conservatives.A rival amendment by Labour MP Stella Creasey, which would make accessing an abortion a human right, is backed by 101 MPs so seeks to decriminalise abortion up to 24 weeks, negating elements of the Abortion Act. It would also ensure that late-term abortions outside the Abortion Act did not result in prison said her amendment would simply bring the rest of the UK into line with Northern Ireland, where abortion was decriminalised in some of Britain's biggest abortion care providers have expressed concern about it being rushed through without proper scrutiny, saying it would effectively rip up the 1967 Abortion Act and could open the door to a whole debate about a woman's right to an Clarke, head of advocacy at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), warned that MPs should not be asked to back a "generational change" after just three hours of debate next week."For us, unfortunately, although we truly believe that we need overwhelming and generational change for abortion law, Stella Creasy's amendment is not the right way to do it," she told Radio 4's Today is among the organisations backing Antoniazzi's proposals. The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said both of the proposed amendments represent "the greatest threat to unborn children and their mothers since the Abortion Act".They urged supporters to lobby their MPs to vote against both proposals, warning that abortion "up to birth" could become possible under the are likely to be offered a vote on one of the two amendments, with Labour, the Lib Dems and the Conservatives all saying their MPs will not be told to vote for or against the prime minister's official spokesman said: "It is important that women have access to safe and legal abortions on the NHS and this now includes taking abortion pills at home."This is an extremely sensitive issue and we recognise there are strongly held views on all sides of the discussion and by longstanding convention any change to the law in this area would be a matter of conscience for individual MPs rather than the government."The spokesman declined to say which way Sir Keir Starmer would vote on the issue, as it was a "matter of conscience". The 1967 Abortion Act initially allowed abortions to take place up to 28 weeks in England and Wales. This was reduced to 24 weeks in after 24 weeks are allowed only if:the woman's life is in dangerthere is a severe fetal abnormalitythe woman is at risk of grave physical and mental injurySince 2018, women in England have taken the second abortion pill at home, aligning the rules with Scotland and the same rules apply in Scotland, it has a distinct healthcare and legal laws are currently under review in Scotland following appeals from advocacy groups' to decriminalise the process.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Sex worker 'terrified' by plans for new prostitution law
At 17-years-old, Alice (not her real name) was sacked from her job in a call home environment was difficult. She had no CV and few employment options.A friend had been involved in sex work and had made "a lot of money". Alice decided to go down a similar in her 30s, she's still involved in sex work, though she balances it with other job Alice believes a potential change in the law in Scotland will make her "terrifyingly" unsafe. Alba MSP Ash Regan is introducing a bill that would make it an offence to pay for sexual services. It's an approach often referred to as the "Nordic Model".The former SNP leadership candidate argues that challenging men's demand for prostitution will help to protect women. Regan says that "buying sexual access to a human being is a form of male violence", and she's determined to see the law things currently stand paying for sex is not illegal in some activities which are sometimes connected– such as running a brothel, loitering in a public place to buy or sell sex or persuading someone to take up prostitution – are against the also wants to see women involved in selling sex offered "exit alternatives" and a legal right to support. And she wants to see any previous convictions for soliciting these proposals have split those who want to keep sex workers explains that the internet has changed the landscape for what she calls "full-service sex workers" (people who exchange sex for money).She says there are now more opportunities for those selling sex to "screen" potential can involve asking to see photo ID before meeting a client, asking for a link to their social media or even requesting references from other sex not a failsafe process, but it can help to check whether people are who they claim to she is concerned about the potential change in the law in Scotland. Most of Alice's unease around the bill revolves around safety. She insists "there's a difference between good clients and bad clients".If buying sex is criminalised, then she fears that the "good clients" will disappear and "you'll just be left with people who don't care about you as they don't care about breaking the law"."I would assume that anyone who doesn't care about breaking the law is more likely to be dangerous", she worries that a change in the law would make screening clients harder, as anyone who's still willing to buy sex illegally won't be willing to share their argues that all these factors combine to mean that Ash Regan's proposals would make her "terrifyingly" less safe."My body would become a crime scene, wouldn't it? So why would I go to the police? I wouldn't even go to the police now," she believes that further decriminalisation is what would ultimately make her safer, providing her with more protections and enabling a better relationship with the Regan's proposal is to offer a route out of sex work for someone like Alice. Is that a prospect that appeals to her?Alice is thinks this sounds like swapping sex work for a minimum wage job, which she says "doesn't really change why people end up choosing to do sex work in the first place". Ash Regan is unwilling to tolerate the status argues that it's fundamentally "a system of exploitation and violence" that affects the most vulnerable women in Alba MSP describes her bill as "a departure from the failed approach of decriminalising the sex trade without addressing the root cause and consequences of commodifying human beings: demand."The most effective way to do this, she argues, is to criminalise those who are paying for promised to "confront the injustice of commercial sexual exploitation head-on." And she has the backing of a number of women's groups in doing there's also a campaign that's been specifically set up to oppose her proposals, with sex workers stressing safety debate about how to legislate with regards to selling sex is a contentious the term "sex worker" is rejected by some, including all highlights how sensitive this debate could become, with different camps passionately believing that their own approach is the right every person involved in this world will have their own unique story and set of rare to have someone like Alice willing to do an interview and speak so frankly – but she does not speak on behalf of every sex worker in has the support of other individuals who have previously been involved in sex work. If her bill was to become law, Scotland would not be the first place in the UK to criminalise the buying of has been a crime to pay for sex in Northern Ireland since 2015.A 2019 independent review by Queen's University Belfast found that the law did not appear to have the desired a tightening up of the law, sex workers reported increased demand for their services and it found that more sex workers were advertising added that sex workers felt "further marginalised and stigmatised".The report concluded that the change in the Northern Irish law had "minimal effect on the demand for sexual services."But there are those – like Ash Regan – who believe that reform can quash demand, make women safer, and provide alternative employment debate could ultimately go nowhere in the foreseeable a Scottish election due in 2026, bills that don't complete their parliamentary journey in that timeframe will fall by the towards this bill remains. And MSPs will now have to think about where they stand on this issue, if they haven't done so biggest obstacle could yet be time.
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
More than 50 cross-party MPs back amendment to decriminalise abortion
An amendment proposing to decriminalise abortion has been tabled in parliament, backed by a group of more than 50 cross-party MPs. Put forward by the MP Tonia Antoniazzi, it is supported by several of her Labour colleagues including John McDonnell, Nadia Whittome, Jess Asato and Antonia Bance. It has the backing of Liberal Democrats including Christine Jardine, Wera Hobhouse and Daisy Cooper, as well as the Green party's Siân Berry and Carla Denyer, Sorcha Eastwood from the Alliance party, and Liz Saville-Roberts and Llinos Medi from Plaid Cymru. Conservative MP Caroline Dineage also added her name to the amendment, as well as Claire Hanna from the SDLP. Antoniazzi's amendment seeks to remove 'women from the criminal law related to abortion', and would mean 'no offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy'. It would mean women would no longer be criminalised under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, the piece of Victorian legislation that most recent abortion cases have been prosecuted under. Nor would they be criminalised under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, which carries the offence of 'child destruction'. The amendment, to the government's crime and policing bill, follows on from one the Labour MP Diana Johnson, now a Home Office minister, had attempted to put forward to the last Conservative government's criminal justice bill, but which was never voted on as the legislation fell because a general election was called. Antoniazzi said she had put forward the amendment because a change in the law 'is necessary'. 'We've seen a sharp rise in the number of women and girls facing criminal investigations following pregnancy loss and abortion,' she said. 'It's just wrong to put women in this situation, to put them into the criminal justice system, because this is not a criminal law issue, this is essentially a healthcare matter.' She added: 'I find it unbelievable that in the last five years, around 100 women have been investigated by the police. It's just wrong. It's a waste of taxpayers' money, it's a waste of the judiciary's time, and it's not in the public interest. Therefore, the law has to change.' The most recent woman to be prosecuted, Nicola Packer, 45, spent almost five years waiting for her case to come to court, before being unanimously cleared by a jury at Isleworth crown court last week. Antoniazzi attended court for a day of the trial with her colleague Tracy Gilbert MP to support Packer. 'I think it is, it is utterly, utterly disgraceful that she was put in this position, and shame on those people that brought this case forward,' Antoniazzi said. The amendment, which if passed could become law as early as this summer, mirrors Johnson's previous amendment, Antoniazzi said, and 'doesn't change anything about the provision of abortion services'. Rather than seeking to create a new framework, it retains the existing abortion law, she said: 'There's no change to time limits, and also how women access care, the need for two doctor signatures.' A change to the law is being supported by professional bodies including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Nursing, and the Royal College of General Practitioners. 'This is a simple amendment that looks after women, which is our principal aim here, to make sure that they are not criminalised for something that is not in the public interest,' Antoniazzi said. 'It's in their interest that we make sure that these women get the right support, the right help, and are not reported to the police for a pregnancy loss, a miscarriage, or a situation that they find themselves in that has become impossible,' she added. 'These women are vulnerable. They need our help, and they don't deserve to have their lives ruined.'
