Around one in four women in the UK have an abortion during their lifetime. But that doesn’t mean abortion has been legal in this country; it hasn’t. Every person who has had an abortion has stepped into legal waters that are murky, if not outright dangerous. This week’s vote to decriminalise abortion, though the greatest reform to abortion laws in 60 years, still hasn’t legalised it; those one in four women still do not have true control over their bodies.
Under the Offences Against the Person Act, which came into power in 1861 (before women even had the vote, as many commentators have pointed out), as well as the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 (which criminalises later abortions), having or providing an abortion was a crime that could carry a life sentence. A life sentence. Do you ever just get the feeling that you’ve been living in an alternative universe? That black has been pink and water has in fact been solid all along? I do. Reading about the history of abortion law in this country is one the most extravagant exercises in bewilderment I’ve ever undertaken.
In 1967, the Abortion Act legalised abortion on certain grounds in England, Wales and Scotland. But, as the Criminal Justice Bill on Decriminalising Abortions puts it: “Abortions must be signed off by two doctors, they must take place in a hospital or premises approved by the Secretary of State for Health, and women must meet one of seven criteria that allows abortion. Any woman who undergoes an abortion without the permission of two doctors – for example by ordering pills online – can be prosecuted and receive a life sentence as her abortion takes place outside of the provisions of the Act.” As Reuters puts it: “A change to the law in 1967 permitted abortions in certain circumstances, but left the 19th century criminal prohibition in place.”
Obviously, women and people with wombs have been having abortions for centuries. Since 1861 the number of (recorded) abortions has increased to the point that 251,377 people resident in England and Wales had an abortion in 2022 alone. We all know someone who has had an abortion. Quite possibly our own mother, or greengrocer or teacher.
Here are the facts, as I understand them. The vote this week means that anyone terminating a pregnancy outside of the rules should no longer be investigated by the police. This isn’t a free for all. This most certainly doesn’t mean that abortions are now a human right or even particularly easy to access. It just means that, as long as you follow the rules, you are allowed to abort at home using telemedicine during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, or during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy according to the above rules, or beyond that in certain circumstances (like if your life is in danger). As the Criminal Justice Bill puts it, this week’s vote “will not change the abortion time limits or provision in any way. It is solely a question of whether women should be sent to jail for ending their own pregnancies.” Medical professionals who assist women in obtaining an abortion outside the 24-week limit could still face prosecution.
