The increasing investigations and prosecutions for illegal abortion in Britain: A case for decriminalisation

This paper presents a case for the decriminalisation of abortion in Britain in light of the increasing investigations into people experiencing pregnancy loss and prosecutions of those suspected of illegal abortion. This growing enforcement of the criminal abortion offences has coincided with the legal change to allow the home use of abortion pills through telemedicine, and comes in the context of global backlash against abortion rights. Framing abortion as a necessary healthcare service and human right, this paper demonstrates the harms caused by criminalisation and highlights how the law exacerbates socio-economic and other vulnerabilities. It is later illegal abortions that tend to be prosecuted, and while there are complex reasons as to why someone might require an abortion, the law prohibits abortion beyond 24 weeks except for narrow medical reasons, creating crisis situations for those that find themselves without legal access. Decriminalisation is necessary to move away from this culture of suspicion, hostility, and stigma that has been built around abortion.