Pro-life advocates urge MPs to oppose amendments allowing late abortions

Parliament Faces Crucial Vote on Abortion Amendments

As the Crime and Policing Bill progresses through the legislative process, pro-life advocates have raised concerns over two significant amendments that could alter the landscape of abortion regulations in the UK. These amendments, if enacted, would allow for extensive changes to current abortion laws.

Proposed by Stella Creasy, Amendment NC20 aims to permit abortion up to birth for any reason, which includes sex-selective abortions. This amendment could dismantle existing safeguards such as the necessity for approval from two doctors and the legal consequences tied to concealing the body of a deceased fetus.

Another proposed change, Amendment NC1 by Tonia Antoniazzi, advocates for the legality of self-administered abortions up to and during birth. This move has prompted warnings from Right to Life UK about the potential rise in hazardous late-term abortions conducted at home, should the amendment pass.

In contrast, NC106, an amendment introduced by Dr Caroline Johnson, calls for the restoration of mandatory in-person medical consultations before abortion pills can be distributed for home use. This proposal has garnered backing from over 40 MPs across various parties, including notable figures like Sir Iain Duncan Smith of the Conservative Party, Richard Tice of Reform UK, and Tim Farron from the Liberal Democrats.

Right to Life UK has highlighted recent incidents to emphasize the risks associated with the pills-by-post service. Notable cases include Stuart Worby, who was imprisoned for secretly giving abortion pills to his partner, and Carla Foster, who took the pills late into her pregnancy after misrepresenting her gestational age.

Catherine Robinson, a spokesperson for Right to Life UK, stated, “The abortion lobby is pushing to decriminalise abortion to cover up the disastrous effects of its irresponsible pills by post scheme, which endangers women by removing the requirement for in-person consultations to reliably verify a woman’s gestational age and assess any health risks or the risk of coercion before abortion pills may be prescribed.”