UK Parliament Votes to Decriminalize Late-Term Abortions

Labour MP Stella Creasy proposed an amendment that would have fully decriminalized abortion and enshrined access to it as a human right, according to NPR. Photo: House of Commons

LONDON — On June 17, 2025, the UK House of Commons voted 379–137 to bar the criminal prosecution of women who terminate their own pregnancies at any stage, including beyond the current 24-week legal limit. The legislation, which applies to England and Wales, aims to prevent investigations or imprisonment of women for at-home abortions, even in late-term cases. 

The new legislation “bars women in England and Wales from ever being investigated, arrested, prosecuted or imprisoned for terminating their own pregnancies – no matter what term or trimester they’re in,” NPR reported.

Hailed by the pro-choice movement as the most significant reform since the 1967 Abortion Act, pro-choice critics argue the law doesn’t go far enough, leaving medical professionals and others who assist "vulnerable to prosecution." 

In doctor-patient circumstances, abortion is legal up to 24 weeks. Abortions have to be approved by two doctors, except for those that take place within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. Under the new law, women who choose to operate outside of those boundaries can no longer be prosecuted.

The bill now moves to the House of Lords, where passage is expected.

It is worth noting that, in 2024, a ban on protesting outside of abortion clinics was passed in the UK, with silent prayer being assessed on a case-by-case basis as those who do “will not necessarily commit a criminal offense,” according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

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