17th June- I Voted to Decriminalise Abortion for Women

This evening I voted for NC1 which decriminalises abortion for women.

The change means women will no longer face investigation, arrest, prosecution or imprisonment, and it marks the biggest step forward in reproductive rights in almost 60 years.

My statement:

As Members of Parliament, it is our responsibility not just to pay lip service to a woman’s right to choose, but, where we can, to act to safeguard it. I wholeheartedly support the decriminalisation of abortion for all women, and today’s vote is a landmark moment in the social history of our country.

Abortion remains a criminal offence in England and Wales under a law written in 1861. That means that, still, in 2025, women can still be criminally prosecuted and imprisoned for ending their own pregnancies. This is not theoretical; it is happening right in front of our eyes, and at an increasing rate.

Those investigations are dehumanising and prolonged, and the women forced to endure them are often extraordinarily vulnerable: victims of domestic abuse and violence, human trafficking and sexual exploitation, girls under the age of 18, and many women who have suffered miscarriage, stillbirth or who have given birth prematurely. They are victims but they are treated as suspects, often subjected to trauma-inducing, invasive investigations.

And now, under new guidance from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, officers are being told that they can seize women’s phones and search their messages, internet history and even health apps if they are suspected of ending a pregnancy outside of the law.

This is not justice; it is cruelty. Vulnerable women need care and support, not criminalisation. This amendment is narrow and targeted and does not change how abortion services are provided in our country. Nonetheless, it is long overdue and will make a real difference to so many women.

It is for this reason I supported amendment NC1 to the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill, to decriminalise abortion for women action in relation to their own pregnancy, and I look forward to it officially becoming law.