More than 1,000 medical professionals have signed a letter of concern as lawmakers in the United Kingdom voted to decriminalize abortion in England and Wales earlier this week.
The House of Commons on Tuesday voted 379-137 to add amendments to a larger crime bill that would repeal a Victorian-era law under which women who have abortions past 24 weeks could potentially face criminal charges.
Right to Life United Kingdom, a pro-life group in the country, issued a press release Tuesday that explained some of the concerns of medical professionals who fear the proposed law, if passed, "would enable abortion providers to cover up the disastrous consequences of the pills by post scheme."
They further warned that the law could lead to "an increased number of viable babies' lives being ended well beyond the 24-week abortion time limit and beyond the point at which they would be able to survive outside the womb."
The Abortion Act of 1967 legalized abortion in the U.K. under certain conditions before 24 weeks, and prosecutions of women under the 1861 Offenses Against the Person Act are unusual in modern times, but prosecutions have reportedly increased since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, when the government loosened restrictions on abortifacient pills by mail.
In 2023, a mother was sentenced to three years in prison for medically inducing an abortion eight months into her pregnancy after lying to a pregnancy advisory service, evidence for which investigators discovered by looking at her internet search history.
The 44-year-old mother was reportedly overwhelmed with guilt and depression for what she did, prompting sympathy from the judge who acknowledged his duty to balance the rights of both the mother and her unborn child when he sentenced her.
"You are wracked by guilt and have suffered depression," Justice Edward Pepperall in Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court said at the time. "I also accept that you had a very deep emotional attachment to your unborn child and that you are plagued by nightmares and flashbacks to seeing your dead child’s face."
MP Tonia Antoniazzi, a member of the Labour Party, introduced one of the amendments and denounced the prosecutions of such women as cruel.
"Each one of these cases is a travesty enabled by our outdated abortion law," Reuters reported her saying in Parliament. "This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end."
"This piece of legislation will only take women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need our help," she added. "Just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end."
The House of Commons must pass the broader crime bill before it heads to the House of Lords, the U.K.'s second legislative Chamber, where it could face further amendments or delayed passage.
