Medical Professionals Issue Urgent Warning Ahead of Lords Vote on Abortion Law
More than one thousand doctors and medical professionals have issued a stark warning to peers in the House of Lords, urging them to oppose controversial plans that would legalise abortion up to birth. This critical intervention comes ahead of a crucial vote scheduled for Wednesday, which could reshape abortion legislation for the first time in half a century.
Grave Concerns Over Decriminalisation
A letter signed by 1,015 senior obstetricians, gynaecologists, midwives, and medical professors expresses grave concerns about the proposed legislation. The amendment, which was attached to the Government's Crime and Policing Bill, would decriminalise abortion up to birth, allowing women to terminate pregnancies for any reason, including dissatisfaction with the baby's sex.
The amendment was tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi and passed in the Commons last year with 379 votes in favour and 137 against, after a debate lasting just 46 minutes. It has since been incorporated into the Bill, and peers are now set to vote on it before the legislation returns to the Commons.
Risks to Women's Health Highlighted
In their letter, seen by the Mail, the medical professionals warn that the proposal poses serious risks to women's health, particularly due to the dangers associated with late, self-administered abortions. They are calling for peers to back an amendment that would prevent this change from becoming law.
Additionally, the group is advocating for another amendment to reinstate in-person consultations before abortion pills can be prescribed. This move aims to address concerns over the 'pills by post' scheme, which was introduced during the pandemic and made permanent in 2022, allowing women to access abortion pills without consulting a doctor.
Campaign Against Coercion and Safety Issues
Campaigners fear that the remote scheme increases the risk of coercion, citing cases like that of Stuart Worby, who spiked a woman's drink with abortion pills, causing a miscarriage. The letter emphasises that face-to-face appointments are an important part of safeguarding against coerced abortions and ensure that pills are prescribed only when medically safe and legally compliant.
Peers will have the opportunity to remove the proposals entirely during the report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill in the Lords. Two key amendments have been tabled:
- One to remove the proposals from the bill entirely.
- Another to reinstate in-person consultations with medical professionals before prescribing abortion pills.
Cross-Party Support for Amendments
Both amendments are backed by a notable team of pro-life and pro-choice female peers, including former Olympian Baroness Davies, former Ofsted head Baroness Spielman, and former president of the British Medical Association Baroness Hollins. Peers are hopeful of passing these amendments, which would require MPs to reconsider the changes when the bill returns to the Commons.
Baroness Monckton, who tabled the amendment to remove 'clause 208', stated: This radical clause was added to the Bill after less than an hour of debate by MPs, and without the necessary scrutiny required for an issue of such seriousness. Whatever one's views on abortion, this is not how responsible laws are made.
Warnings from Former Ministers
Baroness Stroud added: I, and many others, warned of the dangers of the 'pills by post' scheme when it was introduced. Sadly, those warnings have come true. This change has widespread public support and would better protect women by helping prevent further cases of coerced or dangerous late-term abortions linked to the pills by post scheme.
Concerns have also been raised by pro-choice former justice minister Laura Farris, who warned peers about the unintended consequences of the 'abortion up to birth' clause. In a letter, she noted that the consequences have not been fully thought through, criticising the lack of proper scrutiny and policy thinking.
Her letter concludes: A few hours of debate, in the context of a Government Bill, without the amendment even having been considered at Committee stage in the Commons, is not the right approach for this. If it is the will of Parliament to make this change, the Government should facilitate proper policy and legal thinking on this matter and make time for proper scrutiny.
