Overview

• Labour MPs Tonia Antoniazzi and Stella Creasy have tabled amendments to remove criminal penalties for women and medical professionals under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act
• The proposed changes seek to repeal sections of the Victorian law that still carry life imprisonment for terminations outside the 1967 Abortion Act framework
• Campaigners and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service warn that existing statutes have triggered investigations into miscarriages, stillbirths and self-managed abortions
• An e-petition launched in December 2024 and backed by more than 102,000 signatures prompted Westminster to hold the parliamentary debate
• Supporters argue that enshrining abortion access as a human right would safeguard telemedicine services and clinic buffer zones against future political challenges