Case Explained:This article breaks down the legal background, charges, and implications of Case Explained: Abortion Is Still a Crime Under a 164-Year-Old Law — Peers Want That Changed – Legal Perspective
More than 100 women have faced prosecution under a law written in 1861 — and the House of Lords has now taken a significant step toward changing that. Peers have backed a bid to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, advancing a proposal that MPs voted to support last summer and that has reignited one of the most charged debates in British public life.
The vote in the Lords marks a pivotal moment in a long campaign to strip out Victorian-era criminal penalties that campaigners say have no place in modern healthcare. But it has also brought fierce opposition from religious leaders and Conservative peers who argue the change is too sweeping and was never properly examined by Parliament.
Here is what you need to know about what happened, why it matters, and where this goes next.
The Victorian Law at the Centre of This Debate
The law in question is the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. At 164 years old, it remains the primary legislation under which women in England and Wales can be — and have been — criminally investigated and prosecuted for abortion-related offences.
A BBC investigation revealed an unprecedented rise in the number of women caught up in these criminal proceedings. More than 100 prosecutions have been brought under the Act in recent years, a figure that shocked many observers and helped galvanise political momentum behind the decriminalisation campaign.
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi launched the legislative push to end this, tabling an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that would remove abortion from the scope of that 1861 law. MPs voted in favour of her amendment last summer, and the proposal has now cleared a further hurdle with the Lords backing it too.
What the Lords Actually Voted On — and Who Pushed Back
The debate in the House of Lords was not simply a rubber stamp. Conservative peer Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest tabled a counter-amendment specifically designed to overturn the Commons’ decision. She argued that the Antoniazzi amendment had been added to the Crime and Policing Bill after less than an hour of debate by MPs, and without the scrutiny she said an issue of this seriousness demands.
Baroness Monckton described the proposal as a “radical” one and urged peers to strip it from the draft legislation. Her intervention reflected a broader concern among opponents that a change of this magnitude was being rushed through Parliament without adequate examination of its implications.
The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, also spoke out against the MPs’ decision during the Lords debate — a notable intervention from the Church of England’s most senior figure, signalling that religious opposition to decriminalisation remains a significant force in this conversation.
Despite those arguments, a majority of peers voted to support decriminalisation, keeping the Antoniazzi amendment alive in the Bill.
Key Facts at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Law targeted for reform | Offences Against the Person Act 1861 |
| Age of the law | 164 years old |
| Prosecutions in recent years | More than 100 |
| MP behind the amendment | Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi |
| Legislative vehicle | Crime and Policing Bill |
| Commons vote | Passed in favour of decriminalisation (last summer) |
| Lords outcome | Majority backed decriminalisation |
| Key opponent in Lords | Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest |
| Religious voice against | Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally |
- The amendment does not change the gestational limits on abortion access — it specifically targets the criminal law framework under which women have been investigated and prosecuted.
- The BBC’s investigation into the scale of prosecutions is widely credited with accelerating political action on this issue.
- Opposition has come from both religious leaders and Conservative peers, though neither group commanded a majority in the Lords vote.
- US anti-abortion groups have also been identified as influencing a new wave of activism against decriminalisation in the UK.
Who This Actually Affects — and Why the Stakes Are Real
For women in England and Wales, the current legal situation means that seeking or ending a pregnancy outside of the specific conditions set by existing abortion law can still result in a police investigation and criminal charges. That is not a theoretical risk — it has happened to more than 100 people in recent years.
Supporters of decriminalisation argue that this legal exposure creates a climate of fear, particularly for women in vulnerable situations who may delay seeking medical help out of concern about criminal consequences. Removing abortion from the 1861 Act, they contend, would bring the law in line with how healthcare is treated in other contexts.
Opponents, including Baroness Monckton and the Archbishop of Canterbury, argue that the existing law provides important protections and that removing criminal penalties entirely is a step that deserves far more careful parliamentary consideration than it has received so far.
There is also a growing international dimension to this debate. Reports indicate that US-based groups are actively driving a new generation of anti-abortion activism in the UK, adding an external pressure to what has traditionally been a domestic political argument.
What Happens Next for the Crime and Policing Bill
The Lords’ decision to back the decriminalisation amendment does not make it law — but it does keep the proposal moving through the parliamentary process. The Crime and Policing Bill still has further stages to pass before it can receive Royal Assent.
Because both the Commons and now the Lords have backed the Antoniazzi amendment, the proposal carries significant legislative momentum. However, the debate around scrutiny — particularly the argument that MPs spent less than an hour on this — could still become a pressure point as the Bill progresses.
Any further attempts to remove or substantially alter the decriminalisation clause would need to succeed in future parliamentary votes. For now, the amendment remains part of the Bill, and the question of whether England and Wales will finally move beyond a 164-year-old law on abortion is closer to resolution than it has ever been.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does decriminalising abortion actually mean?
It means removing abortion from the scope of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, so that women can no longer face criminal investigation or prosecution under that specific Victorian-era law.
Has abortion been decriminalised in England and Wales yet?
Not yet. The amendment has passed votes in both the Commons and the Lords, but the Crime and Policing Bill must complete its full parliamentary journey before it becomes law.
Who introduced the decriminalisation amendment?
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi introduced the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, launching the bid to end police investigations into abortion under the 1861 Act.
Why has this become a political issue now?
A BBC investigation revealed that more than 100 women had faced prosecution under the 1861 Act in recent years — an unprecedented number that shocked many people and pushed the issue up the political agenda.
Who spoke against the proposal in the House of Lords?
Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest tabled a counter-amendment to remove the decriminalisation clause, and the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, also spoke out against the MPs’ original decision.