Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Lords Advance Plan to Decriminalise Abortion for Women

The measure would shift abortion decisions for women from criminal law to medical oversight.

Overview

  • The House of Lords advanced a clause in the Crime and Policing Bill by rejecting two attempts to narrow it.
  • The clause states that no offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy.
  • The bill also creates pardons and record expungement for women previously convicted under abortion laws.
  • Supporters argue it treats abortion like other healthcare and note that most procedures happen early in pregnancy.
  • Coverage shows a sharp divide, with spiked backing decriminalisation as trust in women and the Spectator quoting critics who warn it could allow terminations late in pregnancy.