In a late night sitting of the House of Lords, Peers voted to approve the Clause to decriminalise self-induced abortion up to birth, and to retain the Pills by post policy.
Baroness Monckton’s amendment to remove the decriminalisation clause (208) was defeated by 185 votes to 148.
This was despite a very strong speech by Baroness Monckton, and the support of many peers across the House.
Peers also voted against Baroness Stroud’s amendment to end the pills by post policy, by 191 votes to 119.
Michael Robinson, Executive Director of SPUC, commented: “As we heard from many peers this evening, these profound changes to the Abortion Act are being pushed through without any pre-legislative scrutiny, public consultation or a detailed impact assessment. Therefore, those supporting these changes have done so based on ideology and without a proper understanding of their adverse effects. We know that the pills by post policy has led to a massive increase in 999 calls and ambulance call outs, at the same time removing the important safeguard of a face-to-face discussion with a doctor. As one peer pointed out, the lack of this vital protection was brought sharply into focus during the Worby Case. This was where Stuart Worby used a female friend to obtain abortion drugs using telemedicine. He later used these to cause his partner to abort their child. The side effects of this action were so bad that the victim will never be able to have a child of her own.
Mr Robinson continued: “Legalising abortion up to birth is the most radical extension of the Abortion Act since its introduction. This change will put the lives and mental health of women at risk. It will lead to late term abortions being carried out on babies who if born in hospital would stand a good chance of surviving.”
Mr Robinson concluded: “Watering down the safeguards in the Abortion Act, by tagging on some amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, has meant that the full impact of this change has not been fully scrutinised or debated. Interestingly, polling we commissioned in 2024, also showed abortion decriminalisation was not backed the public. When presented with the facts of what the change actually meant, support plummeted to just one in eight. The poll found that many people were unaware of the change and others did not understand its impact. This is why it is profoundly disappointing that Lords have accepted abortion up to birth, rejecting other measures which looked to strengthen safeguards, ensuring doctors continue to play an integral part in the process and ensuring women have access to counselling following an abortion.”
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