Editing Abortion in the United Kingdom (section)

===Abortion offences===
Abortions carried out for grounds outside those permitted in law (e.g. in most cases after the 24-week term limit, or where appropriate consent has not been given) continue to be unlawful in each jurisdiction of the UK – under the [[Offences against the Person Act 1861]] in England and Wales, [[#Scotland|Scottish common law]], and the [[#Changes in law: 2019–2020|Northern Ireland Regulations]]. The [[Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929]] and the [[Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945]] also outlaw [[child destruction]] in cases where the life of the unborn child would have been viable outside the womb.<ref name="familyLaw">''C v S'' [1988] QB 135, [1987] 2 WLR 1108, [1987] 1 All ER 1230, [1987] 2 FLR 505, (1987) 17 Fam Law 269, [[Court of Appeal of England and Wales#Civil Division|Court of Appeal (Civil Division)]]</ref><ref>{{cite journal|pmid=12346721 | volume=14 | title=C. v. S., 25 February 1987 | year=1987 | journal=Annual Review of Population Law | page=41| author1=United Kingdom. Court of Appeal }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/6687893.stm|title=Baby destruction woman sentenced|date=24 May 2007|access-date=17 April 2012|work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Medicines watchdog sentences man for selling abortion tablets and counterfeit Viagra |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/medicines-watchdog-sentences-man-for-selling-abortion-tablets-and-counterfeit-viagra |website=www.gov.uk |publisher=Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency |access-date=12 November 2022 |date=2015}}</ref>

With the increasing availability of medicines for abortion, the [[Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency]] has stated that medicines are not ordinary consumer goods and have the potential to cause harm as well as cure, and selling mifepristone with no medical qualifications is illegal and can be extremely dangerous for patients.<ref>{{cite web |title=Woman sentenced to 27 months for selling abortion pills illegally |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/woman-sentenced-to-27-months-for-selling-abortion-pills-illegally |website=www.gov.uk |publisher=Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency |access-date=12 November 2022 |date=26 June 2015}}</ref>

[[Home Office]] statistics for England and Wales recorded 224 offences in total for procuring an illegal abortion in 1900–1909, which increased to 527 in the subsequent decade, 651 in the 1920s, and 1,028 in the 1930s (although figures for 1939 are unavailable). The number of offences increased significantly from 1942 onwards, at the same time as the arrival of American military personnel during the [[Second World War]], rising to 649 in 1944, and totalling 3,088 throughout the 1940s. The trend decreased but remained significant with 2,040 offences from 1950 to 1959 inclusive and 2,592 in the 1960s. However, there was a decrease from 212 offences in 1970 to three in 1979, alongside the implementation of the 1967 Act, and offences remained at single figures over the rest of the 20th Century. From 1931 to 2002, there were also 109 recorded cases of child destruction in the jurisdiction, as defined by the [[Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A summary of recorded crime data from 1898 to 2001/02 [England & Wales] |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/historical-crime-data |website=www.gov.uk |publisher=Home Office |access-date=12 November 2022 |date=2012}}</ref>

From 2002–2003 to 2008–2009, there were 30 cases of child destruction and 46 cases of illegal abortion in England and Wales followed by 61 cases of illegal abortion and 80 cases of child destruction in the subsequent decade (between 2009–2010 and 2019–2020 inclusive).<ref>{{cite web |title=A summary of recorded crime data from year ending Mar 2003 to year ending Mar 2015 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/historical-crime-data#full-publication-update-history |website=www.gov.uk |publisher=Home Office |access-date=12 November 2022 |date=2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Table A4: Police recorded crime by offence, Crime in England and Wales |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables |website=www.ons.gov.uk |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref> Guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service lists procuring an abortion (unlawfully) as a child abuse offence<ref>{{cite web |title=Child Abuse (non-sexual) - prosecution guidance |url=https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/child-abuse-non-sexual-prosecution-guidance |website=www.cps.gov.uk |publisher=Crown Prosecution Service |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref> and notes that some unlawful abortions may be carried out as honour-based crimes, which are committed to punish women for "alleged or perceived breaches of the family and/or community's code of behaviour."<ref>{{cite web |title=So-Called Honour-Based Abuse and Forced Marriage: Guidance on Identifying and Flagging cases |url=https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/so-called-honour-based-abuse-and-forced-marriage-guidance-identifying-and-flagging |website=www.cps.gov.uk |publisher=Crown Prosecution Service |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref>

Abortion and child destruction offences have historically only occasionally been recorded in Northern Ireland – a possible effect of the deterrent provided in law and the policing of a smaller jurisdiction. Between 1998 and 2018, the [[Royal Ulster Constabulary]] and the [[Police Service of Northern Ireland]] recorded 17 cases of procuring an illegal abortion and three cases of child destruction. In several years within that timeframe, no offences of this type were recorded.<ref>{{cite web |title=Police recorded crime Annual Trends 1998/99 to 2017/18 |url=https://www.psni.police.uk/globalassets/inside-the-psni/our-statistics/police-recorded-crime-statistics/documents/police_recorded_crime_in_northern_ireland_1998-99_to_2017-18.xls |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802223827/https://www.psni.police.uk/globalassets/inside-the-psni/our-statistics/police-recorded-crime-statistics/documents/police_recorded_crime_in_northern_ireland_1998-99_to_2017-18.xls |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 August 2019 |publisher=Police Service of Northern Ireland |access-date=14 October 2019 |at=Table 2.2 |date=2018}}</ref>

In the absence of statute law on abortion in Scotland before 1967, medical and legal practice varied locally.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Gayle |last1=Davis |title=The Great Divide: The Policy and Practice of Abortion in 1960s Scotland |url=https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/great-divide-policy-and-practice-abortion-1960s-scotland |website=www.rcpe.ac.uk |publisher=Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh |access-date=12 November 2022 |date=2005}}</ref> [[Demographics of the United Kingdom|General population comparisons]] between jurisdictions would indicate that Scotland would record fewer offences than England and Wales and more than Northern Ireland although figures are not routinely published. In 2022, calls were made to formalise an offence of child destruction in Scotland, to ensure a more consistent approach in line with its neighbouring jurisdictions.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Andrew |last1=Learmonth |title=Men whose abuse leads to miscarriage escaping prosecution in Scotland |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/23112491.men-whose-abuse-leads-miscarriage-escaping-prosecution-scotland |website=www.heraldscotland.com |publisher=The Herald |access-date=12 November 2022 |date=9 November 2022}}</ref>