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Since parliament was prorogued on Wednesday 29th April, abortion up-to-birth is now the law of the land in England & Wales. What supporters call a “landmark moment” actually represents one of the most far-reaching and controversial shifts in abortion law in decades – done with minimal legislative time and scrutiny.
Under changes introduced through the Crime and Policing Act, women who end their own pregnancies at any gestational age will no longer face investigation, arrest, or prosecution. Historic provisions under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 have effectively been set aside in this context, and those previously convicted are set to receive pardons.
Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour MP behind the amendment, acknowledged the backlash surrounding the change, including being targeted by protesters outside her office. The intensity of public reaction reflects how deeply contested the issue of abortion remains, despite pro-abortion campaigners continuing to say that it’s a settled issue in this country.
The move’s supporters frequently point to around 100 investigations into suspected illegal abortions in recent years as evidence that the previous law caused harm, ignoring the context in which many of these cases arose. In particular, the expansion of “pills by post,” pushed through by the very people who lamented the prosecutions.
Under this system, abortion medication can be prescribed following a remote consultation without an in-person examination. This creates risks around inaccurate gestational assessment, missed safeguarding concerns, and complications that require hospital treatment. Some of the very cases cited to justify decriminalisation are linked to this model.
Peter Kearney, SPUC’s Communications Manager, says: “While proponents of this vile legislation are up in arms at the hostility directed at them, there is comparatively little acknowledgment the real victims of violence – the babies destroyed in an abortion.
“Whilst we mourn this policy becoming law, we hope that this change reignites what was a dead debate and wakes the people of England & Wales up to the horrors of abortion.”
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