17 June 2025, 17:13

By Sonia Adesara

Criminalising abortion is causing real harm—it's time the law caught up with public opinion.

Many people do not realise that abortion remains a criminal offence in this country. Women accessing abortion do so under the Abortion Act 1967.

But this law did not decriminalise abortion – it simply made it legal in certain, fixed circumstances. Under current law, abortions must be signed off by two doctors, they must take place in a hospital or premises approved by the Secretary of State for Health, and women must meet one of seven criteria that allow abortion.

Any woman who undergoes an abortion without the permission of two doctors – for example, by ordering pills online – can be prosecuted and receive a life sentence, as her abortion takes place outside of the provisions of the Act.

In recent years, record numbers of women are being investigated for suspected illegal abortions in England and Wales. This includes women who........

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