Lords clear way for abortion decriminalisation to birth

Last June, MPs in the UK House of Commons backed an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill.

The measure would decriminalise abortion for any reason, including where a woman does not wish to have a child of a particular sex, at any stage up to and including birth.

Baroness Monckton, a Conservative peer, subsequently tabled a motion to remove the ‘radical proposal’ from the Bill. However, on Wednesday evening the House of Lords rejected the motion by 185 votes to 148.

Campaigners warn the provision could lead to a significant increase in the number of women having abortions in the later stages of pregnancy at home.

On Wednesday, the Lords also rejected an amendment that would have restored compulsory face-to-face consultations with a doctor before abortion pills are prescribed. Under current legislation, they may be taken at home in the UK if a woman is less than 10 weeks pregnant.

The upper chamber has also backed a proposal to pardon women previously convicted of terminating their own pregnancies.

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