Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (November 2024)

Few issues are more contentious than assisted suicide or are the subject of such passionate debate in Parliament. So far, Parliament has not been persuaded to introduce the concept into UK law. When last voted on by MPs in 2015, the proposal was rejected by 330 votes to 118.

This briefing examines the specific features and safeguards of the Bill, drawing on the experience of other jurisdictions to assess the likely impact of legislation. It does not examine all the arguments for and against assisted suicide.

Read the full briefing here.

Should assisted suicide be legalised?

What the UK can learn from the experience of other jurisdictions?

Read the full submission here.

Abortion - A Guide for Parliamentarians

For many, abortion law in the UK is a settled issue. However, practise has changed significantly, with medical abortions at home now being the most common method. The last few years have also seen changes to abortion law in Northern Ireland, and in the right to protest abortion outside clinics. Events in other countries have also brought the issue to the fore.

Read the full submission here.

Can safeguards make assisted dying safe? (August 2024)

The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill was introduced by Liam McArthur, (Lib Dem MSP for the Orkney Islands) and is the third attempt to change the law in Scotland since 2010. 

This briefing sets out the features of the Bill, the hazards it contains and the potential threats that it poses for the sick and the vulnerable.

Read the full briefing here.

Abortion: Punitive Measures (May 2024)

A briefing on proposed amendment NC40 to the Criminal Justice Bill.

Read the full briefing here.

Should women be removed from the criminal law related to abortion? (February 2024)

On Tuesday 28 November 2023, Labour MPs Dame Diana Johnson and Stella Creasy tabled amendments NC1 and NC2 respectively to the Government’s Criminal Justice Bill. These amendments, which would both decriminalise abortion, were debated at Committee stage on Thursday 25 January 2024 and withdrawn. Now, Dame Diana has tabled a slightly amended version of her new clause (also NC1).

This briefing scrutinises the amendment, examines the reasons women are being prosecuted for illegal abortion, and considers if removing abortion from the criminal law is the correct solution.

Read the full briefing here.

Call for Evidence on the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill (December 2023)

Read SPUC's response to the Scottish Parliament's consultation on the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill that seeks to introduce buffer zones around the country's abortion clinics.

Read the consultation response here.

Abortion and Coercion (October 2023)

We often associate abortion with words like "choice" and "autonomy". In reality, many abortions take place because a woman feels she has no choice - either because of her circumstances, or because she has been pressured by her partner, family, or even medical professionals.

Read the full briefing here.

Should schools in Northern Ireland have to teach pupils that they have a right to abortion? (June 2023)

The Relationships and Sexuality Education (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 will force all schools - regardless of their ethos, the religious or moral views of the headteacher and/or the board of governors - to teach children that they have a right to abortion and how to obtain one without the knowledge of their parents. It will also prohibit the presentation of any opinion opposed to abortion.

This briefing explains how these Regulations are fundamentally discriminatory.

Read the full briefing here.

Should abortion be decriminalised? (June 2023)

On 12th June 2023, the Crown Court at Stoke on Trent sentenced Carla Foster, a 44 year old mother of three, to 28 months imprisonment for the “offence of administering poison with intent to procure a miscarriage.”

Abortion providers and MPs are already using this sad case to call for the complete decriminalisation of abortion.

This briefing details the reasons why this case should not be seen as justification for this.

Read the full briefing here.

Complicit: Is UK money contributing to coerced abortion in China? (May 2023)

This shocking report suggests that the UK is still contributing to schemes that fund China's birth control policies - despite the Government pledging on different occasions to reduce dramatically, or better still end, aid to China.

Read the full briefing here.