Why is abortion legislation in the news?

Abortion is legal in the UK – right? Technically, for much of the UK, the answer to this question is “no”, despite widespread assumptions that the Abortion Act 1967 rendered it so. Abortion in England, Scotland, and Wales remains a criminal offence under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. The Abortion Act 1967 provides specific exemptions, but abortion remains a criminal matter unless those conditions are strictly met. In Northern Ireland, despite legal reforms, access to abortion care is still a significant issue with many people experiencing barriers to care to which they are entitled.

Since 2010, at least 100 women in England and Wales have been investigated by the police in relation to their pregnancy outcomes. Prosecutions are rising: charges under abortion-related laws have increased by nearly 200% since 2002.

Recently, abortion law in the UK is all over the media, with explanatory pieces appearing in mainstream publications including the Daily Mirror, Cosmopolitan, and Harpers Bazaar, exposing the contradictions and cruelty of our outdated laws. Nicola Packer, Carla Foster, Sophie Harvey and Elliott Benham are just a few of those who have faced police investigations and prosecution, accused of unlawfully ending pregnancies under outdated laws not fit for purpose. In 2023, Carla Foster was sentenced to 28 months in prison (later reduced on appeal) for using abortion pills later in pregnancy. Nicola Packer was dragged through the courts before her case was dropped, and she has spoken out widely since then on the ordeal to which she should never have been subjected.

The net is widening, with women and pregnant people being reported to the police after miscarriages, arrested in hospital, and subjected to invasive digital searches, when the priority should have been healthcare.

What is being debated in Parliament this week?

This week, Parliament is expected to debate a number of amendments related to abortion law during the passage of the Criminal Justice Bill. Two of those (NC1 and NC20) could be debated today, and have been cited as routes to decriminalisation of abortion. However, if passed, each of these amendments would bring some positive incremental change, but neither constitutes a proposal for full decriminalisation. Neither fully removes abortion from criminal law to instead locate it fully within healthcare. So that means, no matter what happens in Parliament today, we have work to do.

Among various amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill are NC1, brought by Labour MP Tonia Atoniazzi, and NC20, brought by Labour MP Stella Creasy. If passed:

  • NC1 would remove women from Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. This would mean that women could no longer be prosecuted for ending their own pregnancies, which would be a crucial step forward. However, the law would still criminalise others involved in providing or supporting abortion care, including doctors, partners, and friends. This leaves the infrastructure of criminalisation intact and continues to place healthcare professionals at legal risk.

  • NC20 would remove abortion from the 1861 Act entirely and repeal the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929. It also commits to developing a human rights-based framework for abortion regulation. However, it does not immediately replace the current legal framework, and questions remain over how it would interact with the existing 1967 Act. While this amendment appears to go further than NC1, concerns have been raised that legal ambiguity could mean political momentum stalls before full decriminalisation is achieved.

While both NC1 and NC20 reflect the urgent need for change and each do offer some progress, they also sit within a wider bill that expands police powers and restricts protest, which is of deep concern. We should not be expected to trade improvements to abortion rights for losses of rights in protesting for change. Neither amendment amounts to full decriminalisation, and the danger is that once one or both passes, political and media attention are likely to fade before the job that needs doing is complete. We must resist any idea that passing a single amendment is the end of this fight for true decriminalisation with no more prosecutions, no more fear and no more shame.

What does decriminalisation really mean?

Decriminalisation means removing abortion entirely from criminal law and treating it like any other healthcare procedure: regulated, safe, and accessible, but not policed. Decrim would mean no more prosecutions for people ending their own pregnancies and no more doctors fearing jail time.

As things stand in England and Wales, the Abortion Act 1967 does not provide a right to abortion. Instead, it outlines specific legal exemptions from prosecution, which require that:

  • Two doctors approve the procedure
  • The abortion is performed within strict gestational time limits
  • The procedure takes place in approved clinics or hospitals (which are not always accessible or affordable to travel to)
  • The person seeking an abortion must justify the decision based on the potential impact of continuing the pregnancy on their physical or mental health

Decriminalisation should not be confused with deregulation. It means removing abortion from criminal law and treating it as a matter of healthcare, trusting women and pregnant people and the medical professionals who support them, to make informed decisions without fear of prosecution. Without full decriminalisation, abortion rights remain vulnerable to stigma, legal barriers, patchy geographical access, and political interference. No one should have to plead for access to care or fear criminalisation for miscarriage, pregnancy loss, or desperation.

Bodily autonomy under attack: a coordinated assault

Across the world, where the far right gains power, attacks on bodily autonomy follow. The fall of Roe v. Wade in the US sparked a wave of new abortion bans, clinic closures, and criminal investigations. With it came the return of the Global Gag Rule, cutting funding to vital reproductive services worldwide meaning clinics shut down, education programmes were scrapped, and contraception and care withdrawn. The impact has been felt far beyond the US, and has hit the poorest and most marginalised people the hardest, especially women and girls in the Global South.

The UK is not immune to the global tide of reactionary politics. In fact, we’re seeing the same patterns play out here. In the UK, anti-abortion groups are getting richer, more organised, and pushing their way into schools. Delays to buffer zone enforcement left patients exposed to harassment, and anti-abortion groups are developing new tactics to target staff and patients of abortion clinics, weaponising imagery, fear, and disinformation.

Interlinked attacks on bodily autonomy

We must see the wider pattern for what it is. The far right are coming for all forms of bodily autonomy. The same forces that harass patients outside clinics also bankroll campaigns to roll back trans rights, restrict gender-affirming healthcare, and scapegoat migrants and racialised communities.

This is a politics of control: over who has the right to exist safely, to move freely, to access care, to organise at work, to live with dignity. These attacks are not isolated. They are coordinated and they are accelerating.

In the UK, we’ve seen the criminalisation of pregnancy outcomes increase just as the rights of trans and gender-nonconforming people have come under legal attack. Court rulings and government guidance have echoed far-right rhetoric, stripping back protections under the guise of ‘debate’ and ‘balance’. We must recognise this as part of a systemic campaign against bodily autonomy and equal rights, and reject any narrative that tries to divide us.

Abortion is a Trade Union issue

In 1979, the Corrie Bill attempted to roll back abortion rights, and the trade union movement played a pivotal role in defeating it, helping mobilise 80,000 people onto the streets. That legacy matters. But we cannot afford to rest on historical victories. Today’s threats are more coordinated, more global, and more deeply embedded in political institutions. Just as unions fought for maternity rights, equal pay, and workplace safety, we must now fight for abortion rights as a core part of our struggle for justice and equality.

Stigma and harassment don’t stop at the clinic door — they follow people into their workplaces, classrooms, and communities. This is a trade union issue because:

  • Workers in insecure jobs risk losing income or employment to access care
  • People are denied time off or face disciplinary action for attending appointments
  • Rural and marginalised communities face long travel times and limited access
  • Migrants and precarious workers are excluded from NHS care or fear seeking it
  • Young people and students are targeted with disinformation and shame

These are issues of inequality, of rights at work, and of access to healthcare. Unions must be at the forefront of demanding safe, stigma-free, and accessible abortion care for all.

UCU has strong pro-choice policy and as a union we have long been an affiliated supporter of the Abortion Rights campaign. Earlier this year, I moved a motion on behalf of UCU at the annual Women’s TUC Conference (March 2025) which called for the full decriminalisation of abortion across the UK. The motion was overwhelmingly carried, sending a clear message: abortion is healthcare, abortion is a human right, and abortion is a trade union issue.

The decriminalisation of abortion is fundamental to reproductive justice and the right to make decisions about our bodies, our health, and our futures free from stigma, punishment, or arbitrary rules. We placed bodily autonomy where it belongs: at the centre of the labour movement’s fight for equality and justice. That includes defending the rights of trans people, migrants, and anyone whose autonomy and access to care is under threat from reactionary politics. We must not ignore that bodily autonomy is under attack here in the UK and across the globe, and we in the trade union movement have a responsibility to act.

The Abortion Rights campaign’s key demands for full decriminalisation are:

  • Full repeal of Sections 58 and 59 of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act
  • No criminal penalties for anyone ending or supporting an abortion
  • Healthcare regulation, not criminal law
  • Investment in real access: clinics, education, and support
  • Protection of telemedicine as a vital route to early care
  • Safe spaces, with buffer zones enforced

What can we do?

Whether or not NC1 and/or NC20 pass, the fight for full decriminalisation is far from over. We need to keep organising in our workplaces, our unions, our communities, and on the streets.

Join the Abortion Rights demo in London on 6 September to counter the “March for Life.”
Could your branch organise a delegation, bring banners, and show visible union solidarity? Let’s show that the majority supports choice, dignity, and healthcare — not criminalisation.

Pass a motion in your union branch
Bring this conversation into your next branch meeting. Use the Abortion Rights model motion to build support and push for action. If your union isn’t already affiliated, propose that it joins the campaign.

Organise an event
Host a teach-in, panel, or film screening on abortion rights and decriminalisation. Invite speakers from Abortion Rights, healthcare professionals, or fellow trade unionists.

Lobby your MP
Write to or meet with your MP to demand full decriminalisation of abortion and protection of reproductive rights. Use template letters or talking points from Abortion Rights or BPAS.

Share educational resources
Distribute leaflets, posters, or digital materials in your workplace, union newsletter, or student union. Help bust myths and raise awareness.

Support clinic safety
Get involved in local efforts to enforce buffer zones and protect patients and staff from harassment. Coordinate with local pro-choice groups or legal observers.

Build solidarity across movements
Link up with campaigns for trans rights, migrant justice, and healthcare access. Bodily autonomy is a shared struggle.

Fundraise or donate
Organise a collection or solidarity event to raise funds for Abortion Rights, abortion providers, or local abortion support networks. Every contribution helps sustain the fight.

To paraphrase Malcolm X , we are not outnumbered, but we must not be out-organised.
Let’s remember:

  • Abortion is healthcare.
  • Abortion is a human right.
  • Abortion is a trade union issue.