The Gestational Time Limit Reduction amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill will change the law to lower the abortion time limit from 24 weeks to 22 weeks.

It will do this by amending the Abortion Act 1967 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 so that the gestational time limit for abortion that is set out in Section 1(1)(a) of the Abortion Act is lowered from 24 to 22 weeks.

The time limit of 24 weeks for abortions performed under section 1(1)(a) of the Abortion Act 1967, was introduced by section 37 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. 

Prior to this change, the abortion limit had, de facto, been 28 weeks gestation set by the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, which made it illegal to “destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive”.

The introduction of a 24-week gestational limit in 1990 was significantly motivated by the results of a Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) working party report on neonatal survival rates, which noted improvements in survival rates before 28 weeks of gestation.

During the debates ahead of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 becoming law, MPs referred to medical advances that had led to improved neonatal survival rates before 28 weeks gestation and the need for a reduction from 28 weeks.

Similarly, when the question of abortion time limits was revisited in 2008, the lowering of the abortion time limit in 1990 was again linked to the increased survival rates for babies born before 28 weeks gestation.

A large majority of the British public support reducing the abortion time limit. 

Polling undertaken by Savanta ComRes, who undertake polls for the BBC, ITV, The Independent and Sky News, shows that 60% of the general population and 70% of women support a reduction in the time limit to 20 weeks or below.

The same polling showed 60% of both Conservative and Labour voters supported a reduction in the time limit to 20 weeks or below. 65% of Liberal Democrat voters were in favour of a reduction in the abortion time limit to 20 weeks or below. Significantly, among those with children aged 18 or under in their household, 69% supported reducing the abortion limit to 20 weeks gestation or below.

A separate poll from Ipsos released in August 2023 shows that only 36% of the British population think abortion should be legal during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. This is a significant decrease in support for abortion up to 20 weeks from the previous year conducted by the same polling organisation where 40% of people in Great Britain thought abortion should be legal in the first 20 weeks.

In most European Union (EU) countries, abortion is only legal on demand or on broad social grounds up to 12 weeks gestation, making legislation in the United Kingdom double the median among EU countries.

When compared to almost every European Union country, it is clear that the United Kingdom is an outlier. 

Among the 27 countries that are member states of the European Union, three have a time limit for abortion on demand or on broad social grounds at 10 weeks, one country at 11 weeks, 15 countries at 12 weeks, 3 countries at 14 weeks and two countries only allow abortion in very limited circumstances.

Countries with 12-week limits for abortion on demand or on broad social grounds include Germany, Italy and Belgium as well as the more “liberal” Nordic countries Denmark and Finland. Even Sweden has a time limit for abortion on demand or on broad social grounds that is much lower than the United Kingdom at 18 weeks.

By 24 weeks gestation, the current gestational limit for abortion, the baby has already been fully formed for 12 weeks.

At 12 weeks gestation (the most common abortion time limit among countries in the EU), the NHS outlines that the unborn baby is fully formed. All the organs, muscles, limbs and bones are in place, and the sex organs are well developed. From then on, the baby just has to grow and mature.

At around 15 weeks gestation, the unborn baby will start to hear – they may hear muted sounds from the outside world, as well as the sound of their mother’s voice and heart.

At 16 weks gestation, the muscles of the unborn baby’s face can now move and the beginnings of facial expressions appear.

At 18 weeks gestation, the unborn baby may respond to loud noises from the outside world, such as music. 

At 22 weeks gestation, the unborn baby is beginning to get into a pattern of sleeping and waking. 

At 23 weeks gestation, the unborn baby’s lungs are practising breathing movements to prepare for life outside the womb.

It is legal to abort a baby at any of the above stages of development, right through to 24 weeks gestation, under the current conditions set out in section 1(1)(a) of the Abortion Act. If the Gestational Time Limit Reduction amendment is successful, it will provide additional protection at least for babies towards the very end of the above gestational timeline.

The last time the abortion limit was lowered in 1990, the improved survival rates for extremely prematurely born babies was one of the key considerations that motivated this change. 

By the same logic, and informed by the improved survival rates for babies born at 22 and 23 weeks gestation, the abortion time limit should also be lowered now.

Key studies in recent years have documented the improving outcomes for these babies.

A 2008 study looking at survival rates for a neonatal intensive care unit in London found that neonatal survival rates at 22 and 23 weeks gestation had improved over time. In 1981-85, no babies who were born at these gestational ages survived to discharge. However, by 1986-90, 19% did and this increased to 54% in the period 1996-2000.

In the decade to 2019 alone, the survival rate for extremely premature babies born at 23 weeks doubled (from 2 to 4 out of 10 babies born at 23 weeks receiving treatment in UK neonatal units surviving), prompting new guidance from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) that enables doctors to intervene to save premature babies from 22 weeks gestation. The previous clinical guidance, drafted in 2008, set the standard that babies who were born before 23 weeks gestation should not be resuscitated.

Research published in November 2023 by academics at the University of Leicester and Imperial College London found a total of 261 babies born alive at 22 and 23 weeks, before the abortion limit, who survived to discharge from hospital in 2020 and 2021. This is compared to the Government abortion statistics, which show that in 2021 alone, 755 abortions were performed under Section 1(1)(a) of the Abortion Act when the baby was at 22 or 23 weeks gestation (the vast majority of abortions are permitted under Section 1(1)(a) of the Abortion Act, for which there is currently a 24-week time limit).

Experts in the field have also contributed to the discussion showing the improved survival rates for babies born before the current abortion limit. 

Medical doctor, John Wyatt, who is Professor of Ethics and Perinatology at University College London and Emeritus Professor of Neonatal Paediatrics, Ethics & Perinatology at University College London and who worked as a neonatologist for almost 30 years, presented evidence from the UK and across the world “that there has been a steady improvement in the chances of survival of babies born at 22 and 23 weeks gestation since the Abortion Act was last amended [in 1990]”.

While stressing his role as a doctor rather than a legislator, Professor Wyatt suggested the abortion limit should be lowered to 22 weeks. “I would certainly say that, given the advances in science, it would be important that [the abortion time limit] was regularly reviewed in order to see whether the gestational age limit was still appropriate”, he said.

He continued “[T]he current abortion time limit of 24 weeks is not consistent with survival figures for babies born at 22 and 23 weeks gestation, and with current clinical neonatal and paediatric practice”.