Ask your MP to oppose introducing extreme changes to our abortion laws

On Monday 28 November MPs will debate an e-petition relating to ‘abortion rights’ in the House of Commons.

The petition seeks to include a ‘right’ to abortion in the Bill of Rights Bill. 

The Government intends for the Bill of Rights Bill to replace the Human Rights Act 1998. Over the summer, Stella Creasy MP announced her intention to bring forward an amendment to the Bill to make access to abortion a human right. The Government’s position is that there is no need to include abortion in the Bill as the UK needs to be mindful to avoid the situation in the United States where this issue is re-litigated in the courts.

Removing the criminal law (Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929) underlying abortion legislation would go far beyond just ‘decriminalising’ women, instead resulting in introducing abortion on demand, for any reason (including sex-selective abortion), up until birth. 

This would leave England and Wales with one of the most extreme abortion laws in the world, and so we would move further away from the majority of countries in the European Union where the time limit for abortion is 12 weeks.

Polling from Savanta ComRes shows the vast majority of women oppose introducing abortion up to birth and actually support more – not fewer – safeguards around abortion. Only 1% of women want the time limit to be extended, in contrast to 70% of women who favour a reduction in time limits.

It is vital that as many MPs as possible speak in this debate, highlighting the potentially dangerous changes to the law, and showing the Government the need to ensure that abortion is not included in the upcoming Bill of Rights Bill.

Please enter your postcode in the box above to write to your MP now asking them to oppose making extreme changes to abortion legislation.