Support the overturning of the ‘abortion up to birth’ clause

If abortion law becomes devolved to Wales like it is in Scotland, support the repeal of the ‘abortion up to birth’ clause introduced by the Crime and Policing Bill that will 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.

On 17 June 2025 Labour MP, Tonia Antoniazzi MP hijacked the Crime and Policing Bill (a Government Bill not related to abortion) to introduce clause 246 to the Bill. This seismic change to the law was passed in the House of Commons after just 46 minutes of backbench debate – there was no prior consultation with the public, no Committee Stage scrutiny and no evidence sessions.

Had this change been introduced as a standalone bill – the normal route for major law changes – it would have received many hours of detailed Commons scrutiny, including a full Second Reading debate, line-by-line examination in Public Bill Committee, further consideration and amendments at Report Stage, and a concluding Third Reading debate.

This law change will likely lead to the lives of many more women being endangered because of the risks involved with ‘DIY’ 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.

Tonia Antoniazzi said in an interview that she was comfortable with women being able to abort a viable baby at 37 weeks.

Ahead of the ‘abortion up to birth’ clause being debated in the House of Lords, over 1,000 medical professionals signed an open letter calling on Parliament to oppose the law change proposed by the ‘abortion up to birth’ clause and to instead reinstate in-person consultations.

Independent polling undertaken by ComRes shows that only 1% of women support abortion being available up to birth.

Independent polling from Whitestone Insight also shows that the public ranked introducing abortion up to birth at the bottom of a list of 20 possible priorities they want the UK Parliament to pursue over the next 12 months, with only 1 in 50 people (2%) listing it as a priority.

End discrimination against baby girls and lower the abortion time limit

If abortion law becomes devolved to Wales like it is in Scotland, stop discrimination against baby girls by supporting a law change to clarify that sex-selective abortion is illegal in Wales, and bring Welsh law closer to the laws in the majority of EU member states by supporting a law change to lower the gestational time limit for abortion.

Stop discrimination against baby girls

Globally, well over 100 million women are estimated to be missing from populations because of sex-selective abortion (the practice of terminating a pregnancy based on the predicted sex of the baby). Women can come under intense pressure from families, husbands, boyfriends and other third parties to terminate a pregnancy, usually when a baby girl is expected.

In the United Kingdom, a lack of clarity in current legislation has been exploited to allow abortions to be provided on the basis of the baby’s sex. The British Medical Association (BMA) has outlined cases where it believes sex-selective abortion is permissible on mental health grounds, and the UK’s largest abortion provider, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), also claims that abortion for gender is not illegal.

A BBC investigation revealed that Non-Invasive Pre-Natal Tests (NIPT) are being used widely to determine the gender of babies, with women disclosing that they were under intense pressure to undergo sex-selective abortions. There is also a body of first-hand testimony from UK-resident women who say that they have come under intense pressure from family members to have sex-selective abortions and have gone on to obtain these abortions in the UK.

Notably, a report from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, a government advisory body, found a number of websites offering baby gender tests for around £170. In that report, the Council warned that the increasingly widespread use of the tests in the UK could lead to the country becoming a haven for sex-selective abortions.

An investigation by the Telegraph revealed that doctors were agreeing to provide sex-selective abortions ‘no questions asked.’

Lower the abortion time limit

The current 24-week abortion limit is past the point at which many babies now survive, is double that of the most common time limit among European Union countries and represents a contradiction at the heart of our abortion law.

Originally set at 28 weeks, the abortion limit was lowered in 1990 to 24 weeks gestation in reflection of medical and technological advances that had resulted in improving survival rates for babies born before 28 weeks gestation.

Since then, however, further medical advances have meant that babies born below 24 weeks gestation are increasingly able to survive.

This leaves a clear contradiction at the heart of our abortion law and current medical practice.

On the one hand, the law permits ending the lives of babies at 22 and 23 weeks, and, on the other hand, current medical practice strives to save the lives of many babies born prematurely at 22 or 23 weeks gestation.

This means in the same hospital, on the same day, two babies at the same gestational age (22 or 23 weeks gestation) could have very different fates – one could have his or her life deliberately ended by abortion, and the other could be born prematurely and have a dedicated medical team provide the best care they can to try to save his or her life.

Bringing Welsh law closer to the laws in the majority of EU member states by lowering the gestational time limit for abortion will bring us in line with modern science and is well supported by the public.

Independent polling undertaken by ComRes shows that 89% of the general population and 91% of women agree that gender-selective abortion should be explicitly banned by the law.

Independent polling from ComRes shows that 70% of women want to see the time limit for abortion reduced to 20 weeks or below.

Stop pregnancy discrimination and unsafe home abortion schemes

Support women by backing policies designed to end pregnancy discrimination and stop women’s safety being put at risk, by reinstating in-person consultations with a medical professional before abortion pills can be prescribed.

Stop pregnancy discrimination

The Equality Act 2010 was supposed to stop discrimination in the workplace, but evidence has emerged that pregnant women and mothers still face high levels of discrimination.

Findings from interviews conducted with over 3,000 employers and over 3,000 mothers show that an alarming 77% of mothers report having “a negative or possibly discriminatory experience during pregnancy, maternity leave, or on return from maternity leave”. More specifically, half of mothers reported “a negative impact on their opportunity, status or job security”, and 20% reported “financial loss” as a result of their pregnancy.

While a majority of employers believe “it was in their interests to support pregnant women’’, and “that statutory rights relating to pregnancy…[are] reasonable and easy to facilitate”, the summary of key findings outlined several other concerning statistics, including:

• Approximately 1 in 9 mothers stated “they felt forced to leave their job. This included those being dismissed (1%); made compulsorily redundant, where others in their workplace were not (1%); or feeling treated so poorly they felt they had to leave their job (9%)”.
• 1 in 5 mothers reported “harassment or negative comments related to pregnancy or flexible working from their employer/colleagues” and
• 1 in 10 mothers said they “were discouraged from attending antenatal appointments”.

Notably, single and ethnic minority mothers were both “more likely to report financial loss” and “a negative impact on opportunity”.

Experiencing pregnancy and maternity discrimination could result in a scenario where women have to pick between being discriminated against but being financially secure, or leaving their job and struggling financially. No woman should have to make this choice.

Reinstate in-person consultations with a medical professional before abortion pills can be prescribed

Since home abortions have been allowed in Wales, as has been reported extensively in the media, a number of significant safety and safeguarding problems have put the lives and health of many women in danger (details of these significant problems are available here).

In June 2023, Carla Foster was jailed for taking abortion pills sent by BPAS, Britain’s largest abortion provider, when she was 32-34 weeks gestation but claimed to be seven weeks pregnant.

She later described being traumatised by seeing the face of her dead baby, whom she named Lily.

If Carla Foster had been given an in-person consultation with a medical professional, where the gestation of baby Lily could have been accurately determined, before being sent abortion pills, she would not have been able to get the abortion pills and this tragic case would likely have been prevented.

Baby Lily would likely be here today and Carla Foster’s life would not have been put at risk by performing a late-term abortion at home.

The reinstatement of in-person consultations with a medical professional prior to an abortion taking place at home would help protect women from the health risks involved with performing a late-term abortion at home, along with identifying many other health risks that can be accurately assessed with an in-person consultation.

It would also protect viable babies from having their lives ended in late-term home abortions, as baby Lily did.

At the consultation, medical professionals would have the opportunity to accurately assess, in person, any likely health risks for a woman taking abortion pills, her gestational age and the possibility of a coerced abortion.

Independent polling from ComRes shows that 79% of the general population and 84% of women agree that women who want to continue with their pregnancies, but are under financial pressure to have an abortion, should be given more support. Stopping pregnancy and maternity discrimination would help provide many women across the country with the financial support they need to care for their children and themselves.

Independent polling from Whitestone Insight shows that two-thirds of women support the reinstatement of in-person appointments, while only 4% are in favour of the status quo.