Zürcher Nachrichten - UK MPs eye decriminalising abortion for women in all cases

EUR -
AED 4.29814
AFN 80.739901
ALL 98.052062
AMD 449.160419
ANG 2.094318
AOA 1073.079199
ARS 1513.681829
AUD 1.792628
AWG 2.106372
AZN 1.992419
BAM 1.962873
BBD 2.359904
BDT 142.152228
BGN 1.96108
BHD 0.441221
BIF 3483.307019
BMD 1.170207
BND 1.499183
BOB 8.075928
BRL 6.502803
BSD 1.168812
BTN 100.842079
BWP 16.699819
BYN 3.824833
BYR 22936.051241
BZD 2.34773
CAD 1.602265
CDF 3377.216853
CHF 0.933006
CLF 0.029283
CLP 1123.621202
CNY 8.399686
CNH 8.39281
COP 4703.002201
CRC 589.725002
CUC 1.170207
CUP 31.010477
CVE 110.663763
CZK 24.625808
DJF 207.914753
DKK 7.463602
DOP 70.69474
DZD 152.106522
EGP 57.635136
ERN 17.5531
ETB 162.429525
FJD 2.632673
FKP 0.872335
GBP 0.866801
GEL 3.171255
GGP 0.872335
GHS 12.21375
GIP 0.872335
GMD 83.671849
GNF 10141.543806
GTQ 8.976345
GYD 244.433475
HKD 9.185936
HNL 30.588221
HRK 7.540462
HTG 153.370686
HUF 399.02702
IDR 19079.225502
ILS 3.921181
IMP 0.872335
INR 100.92787
IQD 1531.117193
IRR 49280.319192
ISK 142.438015
JEP 0.872335
JMD 186.903484
JOD 0.829679
JPY 172.452776
KES 151.003505
KGS 102.334345
KHR 4688.795327
KMF 495.348171
KPW 1053.186493
KRW 1618.899626
KWD 0.357299
KYD 0.973989
KZT 619.634835
LAK 25206.289264
LBP 104719.908107
LKR 352.676305
LRD 234.329371
LSL 20.737625
LTL 3.455316
LVL 0.707846
LYD 6.343859
MAD 10.566575
MDL 19.86315
MGA 5198.666117
MKD 61.782626
MMK 2457.286386
MNT 4195.957769
MOP 9.449732
MRU 46.493534
MUR 53.467418
MVR 18.022239
MWK 2026.676903
MXN 21.818305
MYR 4.956412
MZN 74.846862
NAD 20.737625
NGN 1792.311946
NIO 43.014999
NOK 11.88648
NPR 161.347327
NZD 1.957948
OMR 0.449949
PAB 1.168787
PEN 4.167517
PGK 4.912702
PHP 66.793647
PKR 332.950177
PLN 4.244703
PYG 8889.030529
QAR 4.272194
RON 5.072497
RSD 117.164546
RUB 91.536704
RWF 1688.834998
SAR 4.390008
SBD 9.711366
SCR 16.552465
SDG 702.706015
SEK 11.202483
SGD 1.49842
SHP 0.919599
SLE 26.790291
SLL 24538.65393
SOS 667.898128
SRD 42.917255
STD 24220.915969
STN 24.588602
SVC 10.226851
SYP 15214.901917
SZL 20.730434
THB 37.711058
TJS 11.178948
TMT 4.107426
TND 3.433874
TOP 2.740739
TRY 47.262741
TTD 7.934489
TWD 34.360194
TZS 3060.090073
UAH 48.918873
UGX 4188.091272
USD 1.170207
UYU 47.190044
UZS 14700.97315
VES 136.873209
VND 30606.756133
VUV 140.178513
WST 3.097422
XAF 658.315093
XAG 0.030065
XAU 0.000344
XCD 3.162542
XCG 2.106363
XDR 0.821742
XOF 658.329208
XPF 119.331742
YER 282.07863
ZAR 20.74973
ZMK 10533.262438
ZMW 26.881289
ZWL 376.806079
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

UK MPs eye decriminalising abortion for women in all cases
UK MPs eye decriminalising abortion for women in all cases / Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS - AFP

UK MPs eye decriminalising abortion for women in all cases

UK MPs are expected to vote Tuesday on an overhaul of abortion laws in England and Wales which would end contentious prosecutions of women for terminating a pregnancy.

Text size:

Currently, a woman can face criminal charges for choosing to end a pregnancy after 24 weeks or without the approval of two doctors, under laws which technically still carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The issue has gained attention in the UK due to recent court cases. In one a woman was cleared by a jury at trial, while another was released from prison on appeal.

A proposal put forward by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi seeks to change the law to ensure that no woman would be committing an offence by terminating her own pregnancy at any time.

"Women are currently being arrested from hospital bed to police cell and facing criminal investigations on suspicion of ending their own pregnancy," Antoniazzi told AFP.

"My amendment would put a stop to this," she said, adding it was "the right amendment at the right time".

Abortion in England and Wales is a criminal offence under the Offences Against the Person Act, passed in 1861 during the Victorian age and which carries carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Abortion Act 1967 made terminations legal in certain circumstances, including by permitting it up to 23 weeks and six days of gestation if done by an authorised provider.

Abortions are allowed in limited circumstances after this time, such as if the mother's life is in danger or there is a "substantial risk" the child could be born with a serious disability.

An update to the law introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic allows women to take abortion pills at home up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy.

In May, Nicola Packer was acquitted after taking prescribed abortion medicine when she was around 26 weeks pregnant, beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks for taking such medication at home.

The 45-year-old told jurors during her trial, which came after a four-year police investigation, that she did not realise she had been pregnant for so long.

"It was horrendous giving evidence, absolutely awful," she told The Guardian newspaper last month.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children has however called the proposed amendment "the greatest threat to unborn babies in decades".

- 'Optimistic' -

Antoniazzi's amendment would not change any of the laws regarding the provision of abortion services, including the time limits.

And anyone assisting a woman in getting an abortion outside the remits of the law, such as medical practitioners, would still be liable for prosecution.

Some 50 organisations, including abortion providers, medical colleges, and women's rights groups, have backed the amendment.

They say six women have appeared in court in England charged with ending or attempting to end their own pregnancy outside abortion law in the last three years.

Carla Foster was jailed in 2023 for illegally obtaining abortion tablets to end her pregnancy when she was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant. The Court of Appeal eventually suspended her sentence.

Some 140 MPs in the 650-seat parliament have publicly backed the change.

It "has widespread support from MPs across the political spectrum and I am optimistic the Commons will support it," said Antoniazzi.

Lawmakers will have a free vote, meaning they can decide based on their views, not what their party tells them.

Northern Ireland decriminalised abortion for women in 2019. Scotland is currently reviewing its abortion laws.

B.Brunner--NZN