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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Kate Devlin

Abortion decriminalised in the UK after historic vote

Abortion United Kingdom
  • MPs in England and Wales voted 379 to 137 to decriminalise abortion, marking a significant shift in reproductive rights.
  • The reform aims to protect women from investigation, arrest, prosecution, or imprisonment related to their own pregnancies, while maintaining penalties for abusive partners or medical professionals.
  • The vote follows arguments that the UK's existing abortion law was outdated and increasingly used against vulnerable women, with concerns raised about cases of women being investigated even after miscarriages.
  • Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi highlighted that police had investigated over 100 women for suspected illegal abortions in the past five years, describing such cases as a "travesty".
  • While Labour MP Lizzi Collinge argued the change would protect women from "brutal investigations", Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh and DUP MP Carla Lockhart opposed the reforms, raising concerns about sex-selective abortion and the rights of unborn children.

IN FULL

MPs vote to decriminalise abortion in biggest change to reproductive rights in decades

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