Women in England and Wales who abort their babies after 24 weeks of pregnancy will no longer face criminal charges, after MPs voted to support the biggest change to abortion laws in 60 years.
However, the law will still criminalise anyone, including medical professionals, assisting a woman in getting an abortion beyond the current legal limit of 24 weeks – but the woman herself will not face prosecution.
The amendment was tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi and passed by a majority of 242 votes. An even more extreme amendment, tabled by Labour MP Stella Creasy, would have enshrined abortion access as a human right, but that amendment fell.
Destroying life at the beginning and the end
Within days of each other, two events in Parliament put a spotlight on how cheap human life has become. First an amendment tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi to decriminalise all abortions up to point of birth, followed a few days later by the expected vote on legalising assisted suicide.
Mike Judge
