By: TPA News Desk | editor@thepointafricanews.com

LONDON, June 17, 2025 — In a landmark legislative move, Britain’s House of Commons has voted overwhelmingly to decriminalize abortion in England and Wales. The decision, which passed by a significant margin of 379 votes to 137, aims to repeal specific sections of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, thereby preventing the criminal prosecution of women who end their pregnancies outside the established legal framework.

The crucial amendment was successfully attached to the broader Crime and Policing Bill following a spirited debate in Parliament on Tuesday. This vote marks the most substantial reform to British abortion laws in nearly 60 years, with proponents arguing that the antiquated 19th-century legislation had led to the distressing prosecution of vulnerable women, including some who had experienced miscarriages.

While abortion has been legal in England and Wales since the 1967 Abortion Act, certain conditions, such as the 24-week time limit and the requirement for two doctors’ approval, have remained in place. Women who terminated pregnancies outside these parameters, particularly those using abortion pills at home beyond the stipulated timeframe, could face criminal charges carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under the older act. This amendment specifically targets the removal of criminal liability for women in relation to their own pregnancies.

The amendment will now proceed to the House of Lords for further scrutiny and debate. If it remains unamended during its passage through the upper chamber, it will then require Royal Assent to become law. Supporters of the reform are optimistic about its final passage, anticipating that it will ensure abortion is treated as a healthcare matter rather than a criminal one for women in England and Wales, aligning the country with other nations that have already decriminalized the procedure.