Bid to stop abortion being seen as a crime as laws 'aren't fit for 2021'

Abortion should be seen as a health matter between a woman and her doctor and taken out of criminal law, a Labour MP insists.

Diana Johnson, chair of an All-Party Parliamentary Group for sexual and reproductive health believes abortion provision should be regulated, and laws around the procedure are "out of date".

Earlier this year, Ms Johnson withdrew her plans to take her abortion amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that would have introduced abortion for any reason to a vote in Parliament.

Speaking to Gloria de Piero on GB News, the Labour MP said: "It's a very contentious issue, and Governments don't normally want to touch anything around abortion because it's a free vote."

Labour MP Diana Johnson insists abortion should be a health matter between a woman and her doctor (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Ms Johnson acknowledged the 1967 abortion law was a great, landmark piece of legislation but medical advances in the last 50 year mean the act needs reform.

Speaking to Gloria de Piero on GB News, Ms Johnson said: "We've been looking at abortion and abortion services and whether the current law is actually right for 2021.

"[Abortion law] is based on a Victorian statute where it says if a woman tries to procure her own miscarriage or someone helps her, they could end up going to prison for life.

"So, the ‘67 act set out very specific conditions when an abortion can be carried out, so it has to be with two doctors, has to be in a clinic, and the various other conditions that have to be met.

"But if you don't meet those conditions then you could be liable under the criminal act that I just referred to. So we think that's the wrong way of doing things now. It should be taken out of the criminal law.

"It should be seen as a health matter between a woman and her doctor."

The Labour MP has long campaigned to reform abortion laws and does not appear to be giving up just yet.

"As an MP we pass laws, but then over time, those laws may well be out of date. I think it's my job as an MP to point this out and say why the law should be changed."

In July, pro-life MPs including Fiona Bruce, Sally-Ann Hart and Danny Kruger spoke out against Ms Johnson's abortion clinic amendment.

Last year 209,917 abortions were carried out in England and Wales, the highest since the Abortion Act was introduced in 1967.