#UnitedKingdom – House of Lords passes abortion law reforms, effectively decriminalizing abortion up to birth for women despite varied opposition to the bill from Christian leaders and anti-abortion groups.
Under pre-existing abortion law in England and Wales, abortion is permitted under various grounds up to 24-weeks. Any induced abortion outside of these permitted grounds were investigated by police and could result in criminal charges for parties involved, including the mother.
The reforms that passed the House of the Lord sought to remove any criminal liability to women/mothers that self-induced their own pregnancies. These changes effectively allow a woman to self-induce abortions past 24-weeks up to birth without criminal liability.
Healthcare providers and existing regulations remain unchanged, and healthcare providers that act outside of the pre-existing law could still be criminally charged. However, the changes that remove criminal liability for women/mothers could lead to further future changes.
The Archbishop of Canterbury and other leaders from the Church of England participated in the debates in the House of the Lord in opposition to the decriminalization due to its complex nature that eroded safeguards and legal limits.
The Church of England claims in its view that all human life is of value, and that it opposes abortion in almost all cases, but that there are limited exceptions. Regardless, the Church has advocated in the past to reduce the 24-week limit and further restrict current law.
The current Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, has expressed past views as being “pro-choice” when it comes to the rights and decisions of others to elect to induce abortion, while personally she would never induce abortion on her own pregnancy.
The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales on the other hand has outright opposed all reforms to the current abortion practices. The RCC called the changes a “radical departure” from current abortion law.
The Catholic Church claims in its view that all human life is of value and holds its own dignity, and that it holds an absolute and unchanging stance that abortion is a grave evil and an intrinsically immoral act in any circumstance.
Image: Archbishop of Canterbury in the House of Lords during debate on the abortion reforms.
