Monday 28th April 2025
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Campaigners have today delivered a petition signed by over 100,000 UK residents calling on parliament to reform the abortion law.
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There has been a significant increase in the numbers of women facing investigation and prosecution, and a woman is currently on trial in London accused of ending her own pregnancy.
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The charity the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, said “women are being subjected to years-long police investigations, arrested straight from the hospital ward, their homes searched, and their children taken away. This has to stop.”
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MPs have raised the issue in Parliament in recent months and made clear they are looking for opportunities to change the law.
Campaigners have today delivered a petition signed by over 100,000 UK residents calling on parliament to reform the abortion law, as record numbers of women face criminal investigation and prosecution.
Abortion in England and Wales is still a criminal offence. Under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, having or providing an abortion remains a crime that carries a life sentence. Women accessing abortion in Great Britain do so under the Abortion Act 1967, which did not decriminalise abortion but simply made it legal in certain, fixed circumstances. In 2019, Westminster voted to repeal the laws criminalising women in Northern Ireland, but they remain in force in England and Wales.
Increasing numbers of women in England and Wales are facing criminal prosecution under the 1861 law, passed before women even had the right to vote. In the past three years in England, 6 women have appeared in court charged with ending or attempting to end their own pregnancy outside of the terms of the 1967 Abortion Act. Abortion providers say for every woman who ends up in court, at least 10 others are subjected to prolonged police investigations which can prevent them from getting the mental health support they desperately need and which have resulted in existing children being separated from women whose cases never make it to court. A woman in London is currently on trial, accused of ending her pregnancy illegally.
The petition was delivered today by Gemma Clark, who started the petition in 2024, Katie Saxon and Lucy Ward from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, the charity which is leading the campaign for abortion law reform, and a woman, Sammy, who endured a lengthy police investigation. Sammy went into premature labour at home and as she resuscitated her baby, seven police officers searched her bins before the paramedics had arrived. She was interviewed under caution for suspected illegal abortion and had her phone and computer seized. Despite testing negative for abortion medication, she remained under police investigation for a year and was only allowed limited, supervised contact with her baby who had survived despite the traumatic birth. Her story was first reported in the BBC Radio 4 programme, When Abortion is a Crime.
MPs in previous parliaments have repeatedly voted in favour of decriminalising abortion. In recent months, MPs have raised the issue in Parliament and made clear they are looking for opportunities to change the law. Campaigners say the need for reform is urgent.
Gemma Clark, who launched the petition in 2024, said:
“I started this petition out of concern for the rising number of women and girls in our country being investigated and criminalised for seeking abortion care, or even for traumatic experiences like having a stillbirth. The recent global attacks on women’s rights are alarming, and as a teacher, I want my pupils to inherit a world where they have more freedoms and rights than I had. With a Labour government in place and many pro-choice MPs, we have an opportunity to take action. It’s time to repeal this archaic law that was established before women even had the right to vote. We cannot afford to waste any more time—it’s 2025, women, girls and pregnant people deserve better”
Katie Saxon, Chief Strategic Communications Officer at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, said:
“This petition makes it clear that members of the British public want parliament to end the cruel and archaic prosecution and investigation of women for ending their own pregnancy.
“This is happening now, with a woman on trial here in London, accused of illegally ending her own pregnancy.
“In recent years, we have seen record numbers of women investigated for suspected illegal abortions. Women are being subjected to years-long police investigations, arrested straight from the hospital ward, their homes searched, and their children taken away. This has to stop. The time to act is now.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact Katherine O’Brien, Head of Campaigns and Communications, on katherine.obrien@bpas.org or 07881265276.
About BPAS
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, is a charity that sees over 100,000 women a year for reproductive healthcare services including pregnancy counselling, abortion care, miscarriage management and contraception at clinics across Great Britain.
BPAS exists to further women’s reproductive choices. We believe all women should have the right to make their own decisions in and around pregnancy, from the contraception they use to avoid pregnancy right the way through to how they decide to feed their newborn baby, with access to evidence-based information to underpin their choices and high-quality services and support to exercise them.
BPAS also runs the Centre for Reproductive Research and Communication, CRRC. Through rigorous multidisciplinary research and impactful communication, the CRRC aims to inform policy, practice, and public discourse. You can find out more here