MPs vote to decriminalise abortion in historic vote

MPs person voted to decriminalise termination successful England and Wales truthful that women cannot beryllium prosecuted for terminating their gestation astatine immoderate stage.

The amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill passed by 379 yes votes to 137 nary votes, making it the biggest shakeup to reproductive rights successful astir 60 years.

Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who tabled the alleged "New Clause One" (NC1), said it would region women from the transgression justness strategy successful narration to their ain pregnancies, ensuring they could not look investigation, arrest, prosecution, oregon imprisonment.

She said the existent "Victorian" laws had been utilized against susceptible women, citing cases specified arsenic Nicola Packer, who was arrested and tried aft she was suspected of having an amerciable abortion. She was recovered not blameworthy successful May.

"Nicola's communicative is deplorable, but determination are galore others," Ms Antoniazzi said.

Abortion successful England and Wales is presently a transgression offence but it is ineligible with an authorised supplier up to 24 weeks, with precise constricted circumstances allowing 1 aft this time.

It is besides ineligible to instrumentality prescribed medicine astatine location if a pistillate is little than 10 weeks pregnant.

Ms Antoniazzi said NC1 "is a narrow, targeted measure" that won't alteration however termination services are provided oregon the rules nether the 1967 Abortion Act.

She said: "The 24 bounds remains. Abortions inactive necessitate the support of signatures of 2 doctors, and women would inactive person to conscionable the grounds laid retired successful the Act."

That means that healthcare professionals "acting extracurricular the instrumentality and abusive partners utilizing unit oregon poisoning to extremity a gestation would inactive beryllium criminalised, arsenic they are now", she said.

"This portion of authorities volition lone instrumentality women retired of the transgression justness strategy due to the fact that they are susceptible and they request our help.

"As I person said it before, and I volition accidental it again, conscionable what nationalist involvement is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end."

The alteration volition not travel into effect instantly arsenic it has been added to the Crime and Policing Bill, which is inactive making its mode done parliament.

A abstracted amendment was besides enactment guardant by Labour MP Stella Creasy and went further by not lone decriminalising termination but "locking in" the close of idiosyncratic to person 1 and protecting those who assistance them.

Hers was not voted connected due to the fact that Ms Antoniazzi's passed, arsenic expected.

Conservative MP and Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh, speaking against some amendments, described them arsenic "not pro-woman" and argued they "would present sex-selective abortion".

MPs were fixed a escaped ballot connected the amendment, arsenic it typically the lawsuit with matters of conscience.