In the UK, it’s easy to assume abortion rights are safe — that the horrors unfolding in parts of the United States could never happen here. But that confidence is dangerously misplaced.
It’s one of the reasons why today marks a pivotal and much-awaited moment in UK reproductive rights as members of the Lords will now put forward proposed amendments. Last summer, a historic amendment to decriminalise abortion (NC1) was spearheaded by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi. The bill seeks to remove women from the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, which would effectively end the possibility of criminal prosecution for women who self-manage their own pregnancies.
