16 Feb 2024
Abortion in the UK currently sits under a criminal law - the Offences Against the Person Act - which dates back to 1861. This law is increasingly being used to investigate and prosecute women in the UK who have sought "illegal" abortions, or even experienced pregnancy loss - causing 'life-changing harm'.
Soon, MPs will have the opportunity to vote on an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill tabled by Diana Johnson, and end prison time once and for all for women who seek abortions.
Find our position below - we encourage all those in support to email their MP using MSI Reproductive Choice's tool here.
We are pleased to see Dame Diana Johnson’s amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill on the decriminalisation of abortion is soon to be tabled in parliament. For reproductive healthcare and rights to be truly accessible, those that need professional care after aborting or losing a pregnancy must have trust in the systems that exist to support them. Concerns that healthcare professionals will report them to authorities directly contradict this.
Women in all situations should be able to seek healthcare freely, but women experiencing multiple unmet needs including domestic abuse, poverty, substance misuse issues or having no recourse to public funds face the significant risk of these issues worsening if they come into contact with the criminal justice system. When women are criminalised their lives are uprooted by the loss of homes and jobs, or losing care of their children; accessing healthcare should never create further trauma in an individual’s life.
Furthermore, there are many reasons why women are unable to seek medical support for abortion through currently legal means: whether this is due to mistrust of medical institutions, shame, language barriers, control from family members or partners, financial barriers or an inability to travel to clinics. Many women are experiencing a combination of these factors.
Decriminalising abortion is fundamental to providing gender-responsive healthcare. We further urge policymakers to consider how this amendment could be strengthened by support services which are gender-, age-, trauma- and culturally-responsive. Policy must change so that women who have taken decisions about their bodies into their own hands and sought abortions, or those who have suffered pregnancy loss, can access appropriate care and feel safe from punitive action.
Find out more about why our alliance member, MSI Reproductive Choices, is calling for support of Diana Johnson's amendment here.