by Rhys Laverty, The Critic
British abortion legislation has never made sense
This week, MPs are set to vote, quite unexpectedly, on the total decriminalisation of abortion in the UK. Many will tell you that they’re not, but they are. And although onlookers have been surprised to see this sudden possibility thrust into the headlines, it makes perfect sense. For decades, the UK legal system has been deeply confused when it comes to abortion. This upcoming vote is simply the culmination of years of morally reprehensible incoherence.
Two Labour MPs, Tonia Antoniazzi and Stella Creasey, have proposed amendments to the government’s Crime and Policing Bill. The former’s amendment (NC1) aims to disapply criminal law from women regarding their own abortions. Creasey’s amendment (NC20) aims to disapply the law from “healthcare” professionals who administer abortions, by insisting that the law incorporate the recommendations of paragraphs 85 and 86 of a 2018 report from the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). These amendments would repeal entirely the 1929 Infant Life (Preservation) Act and parts of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
In practice, these amendments would make abortion legal in the UK up until the point of birth. Yes, really, they would. Our current 24 week limit would remain on paper, but it would be a fig leaf for a permanently stained national conscience. According to NC1, “no offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy.” According to NC20, “No investigation may be carried out, and no criminal proceedings may be brought or continued” against abortion providers under the aforementioned acts. And so, whilst we likely wouldn’t see abortions beyond 24 weeks being offered officially, anyone who procured or performed one would be exempt from prosecution.