MPs have approved the biggest change to abortion law in England and Wales for 50 years.
It was done via an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill. If this comes as a surprise to you, it is because the proposed change has received very little in way of proper scrutiny, let alone parliamentary debate. Coming the same week as an expected vote on assisted suicide legislation, it could be a profoundly dark few days for the UK.
The amendment that won support from a majority of 379 MPs to 137, (a majority of 242) states that “no offence is committed by a woman in relation to her own pregnancy“ in relation to “the law related to abortion“. It means women are removed from any prospect of being criminalised for causing their own abortion, no matter the reason and no matter the time that it is carried out – right up to birth.
Palliative care is the way forward, not assisted suicide
The assisted suicide bill at Westminster is now highly likely to fall after the government refused to give it any …