Crime and Policing Bill - Abortion - Removal of criminal liability from women who act in relation to their own pregnancy

The Crime and Policing Bill has passed the House of Commons and is now before the House of Lords. 

It is a government Bill sponsored by the Home Office and covers a vast array of topics. The Bill has 16 Parts amounting to 220 clauses and a further 23 Schedules. The outpouring of criminal justice legislation is relentless and unending.

For the moment, I just wish to note Clause 208.

This is a short clause but will alter the law in a major way -

 

Clause 208 will ensure that women will no longer be subject to years-long investigation, criminal charges, and custodial sentences for ending their own pregnancy.

Attempts were made in the House of Lords to amend Clause 208. See Hansard - Debate 18 March 2026 but proposed amendments were not supported.

Clause 208 and the amendments are discussed in an article published by Family First New Zealand. I have reproduced part of the article below - (Note 1).

Note 2 contains links to the relevant UK Acts of Parliament. 

Note 1: Family First article

Proponents of this amendment argue it shields vulnerable women from criminalisation in difficult situations, such as late-discovered pregnancies, coercion, or barriers to NHS access. Pro-life groups, including Right To Life UK, argue that the change removes important deterrents against late self-managed abortions (e.g., using pills obtained remotely or illicitly beyond the approved 24-week limit in the UK), which could increase risks to women and enable actions like sex-selective terminations without accountability or criminal consequences for the woman.

 Spokesperson for Right to Life UK, Catherine Robinson, stated ... “Tonight’s vote means there will be no criminal deterrent against a woman inducing her own abortion right up to full term for any reason, including sex-selective ones. A civilised society should not permit such outcomes without safeguards. There is no widespread public demand for this specific change, and it was not part of the Government’s manifesto. Annually, abortions in England and Wales already exceed 300,000, with the 24-week limit higher than in many EU countries (where 12 weeks is common on request). Yet Parliament has moved towards fewer criminal safeguards in self-managed cases, even late in pregnancy. The abortion lobby supports decriminalisation partly to address issues from the pills-by-post scheme, but critics say removing in-person consultations endangers women by missing coercion, incorrect gestational dating, or health risks in late self-administration.”

The pills-by-post scheme (telemedicine for early medical abortions up to 10 weeks) was introduced temporarily during the pandemic and became permanent in 2022. While medical organisations such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) regard it as safe and effective. Critics highlight potential risks associated with self-reported gestation or the absence of physical examinations.

Surveys commissioned by pro-life groups show strong opposition to sex-selective abortions (around 89% favouring explicit bans) and low support for unrestricted late-term abortion (often in the low single digits). Independent polls indicate broad support for the existing 24-week clinical limit with exceptions, mixed views on full decriminalisation, and limited public awareness of current criminal risks to women.

Medical organisations such as the RCOG, BMA, and pro-choice groups support the change, viewing it as protecting vulnerable women from criminal laws while preserving clinical regulations and safeguards. This reform applies only to England and Wales, where the Bill is expected to become law in the coming weeks or months.

What happens in the UK rarely stays there. New Zealand decriminalised abortion in 2020, allowing terminations up to 20 weeks on request and beyond in certain cases. Our abortion numbers have risen sharply (by around 37% from pre-law figures, reaching over 17,700 in 2024), coinciding with expanded telehealth access. The same ideological momentum that propelled Clause 208 through Westminster is already echoing in policy discussions here in New Zealand.

This vote serves as a stark and urgent reminder of how incremental legislative changes erode protections for the unborn, paving the way for more extreme outcomes that prioritise convenience over the fundamental right to life.

Pro-life organisations and advocates must act with renewed urgency: Raise awareness relentlessly, mobilise communities, support vulnerable women facing crisis pregnancies, lobby and fight at every level to defend the dignity and right to life of both the mother and unborn child.

Note 2: relevant Acts

The 1861 Act sections 58 and 59 are the basis of the law of abortion in England and Wales. The 1929 Act provides the penalty for "Child Destruction"  - i.e. with intent to destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive, by any wilful act causes a child to die before it has an existence independent of its mother."  For the purposes of the 1929 Act, evidence that a woman had at any material time been pregnant for a period of twenty-eight weeks or more shall be primâ facie proof that she was at that time pregnant of a child capable of being born alive. 

The Abortion Act 1967 addresses medical termination of pregnancy.