Reform UK is expected to pledge to repeal the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill and the Antoniazzi abortion up to birth amendments at the next General Election if these proposed law changes become law, according to The Mail on Sunday.
Referring to the proposed change to introduce assisted suicide, the newspaper wrote “Nigel Farage’s party is expected to promise to reverse the law in its next manifesto, assuming the legislation passes in the Lords”.
The Mail on Sunday reported that a campaign source said “Bearing in mind how dangerous this Bill will be for vulnerable people, it’s not unreasonable for different political parties to think about what might need to happen if it does become law”.
“If the leadership of a party is of the view that the legal status quo is dangerous, it would only be natural for them to want to scrap the system”.
Fears that assisted suicide law “will widen in scope”
Reform UK leader and MP for Clacton, Nigel Farage, who voted against the Bill at Third Reading, has previously spoken out against assisted suicide, warning “the right to die may become the obligation to die” and saying “I fear that the law will widen in scope” if it were to become law.
A Reform UK insider also suggested the party would repeal any law change introduced by the abortion up to birth amendment (NC1), tabled by Tonia Antoniazzi MP, which was passed by MPs by 379 to 137 last week.
This amendment, if it remains in the Bill and the Bill receives Royal Assent, will change the law so it will no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason, including sex-selective purposes, and at any point up to and during birth, likely leading to a significant increase in the number of women performing dangerous late-term abortions at home.
The Mail on Sunday reported that an insider said “Each party will have to state its position on abortion and assisted dying in their manifestos. The election is an opportunity to reverse them both”.
Criticism of “utterly ludicrous” abortion law
Farage recently branded the UK 24-week abortion limit “utterly ludicrous”, “irrational” and “totally out of date”.
Speaking at a press conference in May, the Reform MP and party leader said “I think it’s ludicrous, utterly ludicrous that we can allow abortion up to 24 weeks. And yet, if a child is born prematurely at 22 weeks, your local hospital will move heaven and earth and probably succeed in that child surviving and going on and living a normal life”.
“So I believe there is an inconsistency in the law. I believe it is totally out of date”.
“I think our current situation on this is irrational”, Farage added.
Farage’s reference to “an inconsistency in the law” is also supported by evidence from official abortion data. While the law permits ending the lives of babies at 22 and 23 weeks, current medical practice also strives to save the lives of many babies born prematurely at 22 or 23 weeks gestation.
No official announcement from Reform UK
The alleged pledge was welcomed by some pro-life supporters. NHS doctor Calum Miller said “This would be HUGE”, whilst Lois McLatchie-Miller from ADF UK (Alliance Defending Freedom) said it was a “STRONG MOVE from The Reform Party”.
Reform UK has made no official announcement on the plans and does not have any official policies on abortion or assisted suicide. Although Reform MPs Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson, and James McMurdock voted against the assisted suicide Bill at Third Reading, Sarah Pochin and Richard Tice voted in favour of the legislation.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “Tonia Antoniazzi’s proposed law change would likely lead to the lives of many more women being endangered because of the risks involved with self-administered late-term abortions and also tragically lead to an increased number of viable babies’ lives being ended well beyond the 24-week abortion time limit and beyond the point at which they would be able to survive outside the womb”.
“There has already been a large backlash after Tonia Antoniazzi MP said in an interview that she was comfortable with women being able to abort a viable baby at 37 weeks”.
“Health Secretary Wes Streeting has also raised a series of concerns about the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill since the Third Reading vote, sharing his fears that MPs had made the ‘wrong’ choice in voting for the reckless legislation and referencing the extensive concerns raised by a series of professional medical bodies”.
“We must now highlight these growing concerns to the House of Lords”.
