Campaigners have called on the House of Lords to ensure that women who have been arrested, investigated, or convicted under abortion legislation in England and Wales are not left behind if the law is changed. The House of Lords is set to consider amendments to the crime and policing bill on Wednesday, including two that would end active police investigations into suspected illegal abortions and pardon women already criminalised.
Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Elizabeth Barker, who proposed one of the amendments, said the current system treats women and girls cruelly. 'When I heard how the system has treated these women and girls when they are at their most vulnerable, and how they may have to explain this every time their DBS check gets renewed, it was clear this cruelty had to be stopped,' she said. She added that a conviction is a life sentence, preventing women from getting jobs and even renewing car insurance.
One woman, Becca, shared her experience of being arrested for attempted child destruction after giving birth at 28 weeks. She had taken abortion pills believing she was only a few weeks pregnant, but a scan revealed she was six months pregnant. She gave birth to her son Harry within an hour. The police were called by a hospital, and Becca was arrested at home while her partner was arrested at the hospital visiting their son. Their electronic devices were confiscated, and they were not allowed unsupervised contact with their son for months. The investigation was dropped after 15 months, but the arrest still affects Becca, now 21, as abortion offences are classed as violent crimes.
Last summer, the House of Commons voted to end the criminalisation of women who terminate pregnancies outside the legal framework through a new clause in the crime and policing bill. The House of Lords will now consider amendments that would also address past cases.
