It is difficult to overstate the significance of what has taken place in the House of Lords last night. In a series of votes that will have far-reaching consequences for both the unborn and their mothers, peers have approved sweeping changes that radically liberalise the abortion regime in England and Wales, while simultaneously rejecting even modest safeguards.
At the heart of these changes is the decision to decriminalise women who induce their own abortions, effectively removing legal protection for unborn children at any stage of pregnancy, even up to birth. That this has been achieved not through careful, transparent legislation, but by way of amendments to an unrelated bill, should trouble anyone concerned with the integrity of our lawmaking process.
For decades, the Abortion Act — however contested — maintained a framework that recognised at least some moral and medical boundaries. The 24-week limit, imperfect though it was, acknowledged the increasing viability of the unborn child and the seriousness of late-term abortion. What the Lords have now endorsed is not merely an adjustment, but a profound dismantling of those boundaries.
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