We just wanted to update you to let you know that, unfortunately, MPs have just voted by 379 votes to 137 in support of Tonia Antoniazzi’s abortion up to birth amendment.
The vote took place after less than two hours of debate. This is the first time this extreme abortion amendment has been debated in the House of Commons, and there has been no consultation with the public on this seismic law change.
The amendment, tabled by Tonia Antoniazzi MP, would change the law so it would 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 an increase in the number of women performing dangerous late-term abortions at home.
This is not the end of the battle on this extreme abortion amendment.
I have just sent out a press release to media outlets, making it clear that pro-lifers around the country will be doing everything in their power to fight this amendment in the House of Lords.
Please be ready to take action again shortly as we fight this amendment as it progresses through the Lords.
Unfortunately, an amendment tabled by Dr Caroline Johnson that would have reinstated in-person consultations to help protect women and babies from dangerous late-term home abortions was voted down.
While it is tragic that the Antoniazzi amendment passed, the other, even more extreme amendment, tabled by Stella Creasy MP, did not go to a vote and will not be able to become law.
This happened after the Speaker decided that, if Antoniazzi’s amendment passed, Stella Creasy’s amendment would not be able to go to a vote.
If this amendment had gone to a vote and passed, the abortion lobby would have arrived at their end goal all in one go – abortion would have been available in abortion clinics around the country on demand, for any reason, up to birth.
The time limit, two-doctor rule, and a series of other safeguards provided by the Abortion Act would have gone.
The UK would have been left with the world’s most extreme abortion law.
In New Zealand in 2020, abortion was decriminalised and the country saw a 43% increase in late-term abortions in 2020.
The law change Stella Creasy proposed was more extreme than the law in New Zealand.
This would have likely led to a very large increase in later-term abortions. Along with this, because the other safeguards provided by the Abortion Act that help save lives would have been removed, this would have likely led to a large increase in abortions at all gestations.
While it is good that this amendment did not pass today, it shows where the abortion lobby ultimately wants to go with our abortion laws.
It will not be long before the abortion lobby is back with another similar proposal.
There is going to be much more work for us to do to ensure we fight the Antoniazzi amendment in the House of Lords and defeat any future attempts to bring in even more extreme changes to our abortion laws that will result in the ending of even more lives through abortion.
Thank you for everything you have done in this battle, and as we said earlier, please be ready as we all fight Tonia Antoniazzi’s extreme abortion up to birth amendment as it progresses through the House of Lords.