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Thailand rejects 24-week abortion bill, but proceeds with abortion on demand up to 12 weeks

Thai politicians have rejected a proposal to introduce abortion on demand through to 24-weeks, but proceeded with introducing abortion on demand up to 12 weeks.

The new law, which came into effect today, will make abortion legal throughout the first trimester of pregnancy on demand, for any reason, and legal after that point in cases where giving birth poses a physical or mental health risk to the mother, where the baby is disabled, or where the pregnancy is a result of rape.

In January of this year, legislators in Thailand introduced amendments to the previous abortion law with its strong pro-life protections. 

The Move Forward Party (MFP) proposed an alternative law that would have introduced abortion on demand through to 24 weeks, but in the end, the House voted in favour of the cabinet-sponsored bill introducing abortion on demand through to 12 weeks.

Previously, abortion had only been legal in cases where the pregnancy was the result of rape,  where giving birth posed a physical or mental health risk to the mother, or where the baby was disabled. Importantly, these provisions mean that abortion was and is available after the first trimester if a physician judges that these criteria have been met.

These changes have come into effect almost a year after a court ruled that the restrictions on abortion were unconstitutional.

The move was opposed by many of Thailand’s conservative Theravada Buddhist population. A number of pro-abortion groups have criticised the move as not going far enough.

Jihan Jacob, a legal adviser for Asia with the Center for Reproductive Rights said: “It is a positive development to have certain legal grounds that allow abortion, but it is not enough to ensure that all pregnant women can access abortion”.

The changes will place Thailand among the more permissive countries on abortion in Southeast Asia, where Vietnam sets no term limits for abortion while the Philippines has a near total ban on abortion.

Change in abortion law across the world

While Thailand moves in the same direction as Argentina, which has also recently removed protections for unborn children, Poland has recently introduced strong pro-life protections in law which forbid discrimination against babies in the womb with disabilities.

Previously, lethal discrimination against disabled babies was permitted in Poland but late last year, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that this discrimination was incompatible with the Constitution of the country.

Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said: “It is saddening to see another country move in this direction, to see another country deny its own citizens the most basic right: the right to life”.

“Britain made this mistake over 50 years ago and since then there have been over 9 million abortions. Thailand has just made the same grave error”.

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Help fight the next phase of our battles against major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.

Dear reader,

We are facing two major threats in the Lords - an extreme assisted suicide Bill and an abortion up to birth amendment.

THE GOOD NEWS - OUR STRATEGY IS WORKING

At Second Reading of the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill in the House of Lords, a record number of Peers spoke, and of those who took a position, around two-thirds opposed the assisted suicide Bill. That is more than double the number who supported it.

Our side also secured a significant win, with the establishment of a dedicated Lords Select Committee to further scrutinise the Bill’s proposals – and Committee Stage has been delayed until it reports.

This momentum has been built by tens of thousands of people like you. Thanks to your hard work, Peers are receiving a very large number of emails and letters by post, making the case against the Bill. 

Thanks to your support, we have been able to mount a major campaign in Parliament, in the media and online – alongside your own efforts – to keep us on course for our goal: that this dangerous Bill never becomes law.

BUT MORE CHALLENGES LIE AHEAD

We cannot become complacent. Well-funded groups - Dignity in Dying, My Death My Decision and Humanists UK - have poured millions into pushing assisted suicide. They can see support is slipping and will fight hard to reverse that.

This is not the only fight we are facing in the House of Lords.

At the same time, the Antoniazzi abortion up to birth amendment, which passed in the House of Commons in June, is moving through the House of Lords as part of the Crime and Policing Bill.

Second Reading will take place in a matter of weeks. It will then go on to Committee and Report Stages, where we will be up against the UK’s largest abortion providers – BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes) – who are expected to lobby for even more extreme changes to our abortion laws.

If the Antoniazzi amendment becomes law, it would no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason – including sex-selective purposes – at any point up to and during birth.

Thousands of vulnerable lives - at the beginning and the end of life - depend on what happens next. We must do everything in our power to stop these radical proposals.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Our campaign against the Leadbeater Bill in the House of Lords is working, but the work we have already done has significantly stretched our limited resources.

We are now stepping up our efforts against the assisted suicide Bill while launching a major push to stop the abortion up to birth amendment in the Lords. 

To fight effectively on both fronts, we aim to raise £183,750 by midnight this Sunday (5 October 2025).

Every donation, large or small, will help protect lives, and UK taxpayers can add 25p to every £1 through Gift Aid at no extra cost.

Will you donate now to help protect vulnerable lives from these two major threats?

URGENT
APPEAL
to protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help fight the next phase of our battles against major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.