Abortion Bill — 23 Oct 2018 at 12:49

The majority of MPs voted to decriminalise all abortions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland performed with the consent of the pregnant women up to the twenty-forth week of pregnancy.

The motion supported by the majority of MPs in this vote was:

• That leave be given to bring in a Bill to amend the law relating to abortion in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland;
• to remove criminal liability in respect of abortion performed with the consent of the pregnant woman up to the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy;
• to repeal sections 59 and 60 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861;
• to create offences of termination of a pregnancy after its twenty-fourth week and non-consensual termination of a pregnancy;
• to amend the law relating to conscientious objection to participation in abortion treatment;
• and for connected purposes.

The provisions of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 referenced criminalise: "Procuring drugs, &c. to cause abortion" and "Concealing the birth of a child".

The text of the Bill had not been published at the time of the vote^[2] so MPs were voting on the basis of the motion text.

At the time of the vote the 1967 Abortion Act, as amended^[3], permitted abortions in England and Wales if two registered medical practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith—

• (a)that the pregnancy has not exceeded its twenty-fourth week and that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or any existing children of her family; or
• (b)that the termination is necessary to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman; or
• (c)that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated; or
• (d)that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped.

The proposed bill would apply to Northern Ireland where at the time of the vote the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 only permitted abortion to preserve the life of the mother

• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Abortion Bill
• [2] Diana R. Johnson MP, (Labour, Kingston upon Hull North), House of Commons 6 November 2018
• [3] Section 1 of the Abortion Act 1967

Debate in Parliament |