Editing Abortion in the United Kingdom (section)

=== England and Wales ===
The '''[[Offences against the Person Act 1861]]''', in England and Wales, prohibits administering drugs or using instruments to procure an abortion and procuring drugs or other items to cause an abortion<ref name=1861act>{{OGL-attribution|version=3.0|{{cite web |title=Offences against the Person Act 1861 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/24-25/100/crossheading/attempts-to-procure-abortion |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |publisher=National Archives |access-date=15 August 2022}}}}</ref> although subsequent law has provided for a range of grounds which allow abortion to be widely available.

The '''[[Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929]]''' amended the law in England and Wales to create the offence of [[child destruction]] – in cases where any person "who, with intent to destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive, by any wilful act causes a child to die before it has an existence independent of its mother". For the purposes of this Act, a child whose mother has been pregnant for 28 weeks is deemed "capable of being born alive". The 1929 Act also provides a defence where it is proved that causing the death of the child was "done in good faith for the purpose only of preserving the life of the mother."<ref name=1929act>{{OGL-attribution|version=3.0|{{cite web |title=Infant Life (Preservation Act) 1929 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/19-20/34 |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |publisher=National Archives |access-date=15 August 2022}}}}</ref>

The '''[[Abortion Act 1967]]''' originally permitted abortion "by a registered medical practitioner if two registered medical practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith" on the following grounds:

* a risk to the life of the pregnant woman, or of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or any existing children of her family; or
* a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be "seriously handicapped".<ref name=1967act-original>{{OGL-attribution|version=3.0|{{cite web |title=Abortion Act 1967 (as enacted) |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1967/87/enacted |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |publisher=National Archives |access-date=15 August 2022}}}}</ref>

The Act came into operation in 1968, and originally applied a term limit of 28 weeks, in line with the Infant Life Preservation Act. It was subsequently amended by the '''[[Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990]]''', to allow for the following grounds:

* '''Ground A''' – risk to the life of the pregnant woman;
* '''Ground B''' – to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman;
* '''Ground C''' – risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman (up to 24 weeks in the pregnancy);
* '''Ground D''' – risk of injury to the physical or mental health of any existing children of the family of the pregnant woman (up to 24 weeks in the pregnancy);
* '''Ground E''' – substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped;
* '''Ground F''' – to save the life of the pregnant woman; or
* '''Ground G''' – to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman in an emergency.<ref>{{cite web |title=Abortion statistics England and Wales 2020, Statutory grounds for abortion |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/abortion-statistics-for-england-and-wales-2020/abortion-statistics-england-and-wales-2020 |website=www.gov.uk |publisher=Department of Health and Social Care |access-date=24 December 2021}}</ref>

The amendment therefore allowed for a reduction in the term limit to 24 weeks for Ground C and Ground D with the law changing to reflect advances in technology to enable premature children to be born alive earlier in a pregnancy. However, no term limit was applied to other grounds and abortion was permitted throughout the pregnancy in these cases. The changes took effect in April 1991.<ref>{{cite web |title=Abortion statistics England and Wales 2020, Key events |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/abortion-statistics-for-england-and-wales-2020/abortion-statistics-england-and-wales-2020 |website=www.gov.uk |publisher=Department of Health and Social Care |access-date=24 December 2021}}</ref>

Abortion law was not devolved to the [[Senedd|National Assembly for Wales]] under [[Government of Wales Act 1998]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Government of Wales Act 1998, Schedule 2 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/38/schedule/2/enacted |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |publisher=National Archives |access-date=21 August 2019}}</ref> and was specifically reserved to the [[UK Parliament]] via the [[Government of Wales Act 2006]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Government of Wales Act 2006, Schedule 7A, Head J, Section J1 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/32/schedule/7A |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |publisher=National Archives |access-date=21 August 2019}}</ref>

In April 2024 a cross-party group of MPs put forward amendments to the current abortion law in England and Wales to decriminalise abortion up to 24 weeks and ensure that future legislation and guidance protects the right to an abortion.<ref>{{cite journal |url= https://www.bmj.com/content/385/bmj.q831 |title= Abortion: MPs propose decriminalisation in England and Wales |date= 9 April 2024 |journal= BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.) |publisher= [[The BMJ]] |pmid= 38594030 |access-date= 16 August 2024 |last1= Iacobucci |first1= G. |volume= 385 |pages= q831 |doi= 10.1136/bmj.q831 }}</ref> An amendment proposed that abortion be entirely decriminalised for women, whereby the 24-week limit and the requirement for approval by two doctors would remain but if the time limit is not kept to the woman would not be prosecuted, though criminal sanctions would still apply to doctors and midwives involved in abortion beyond 24-weeks.<ref name="FT, May 2024">{{cite news |last= Hughes |first= Laura |date= 9 May 2024 |title= MPs in push to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales |url= https://www.ft.com/content/4135e2ae-330c-471a-bb08-a80d69524773 |work= [[Financial Times]] (FT) |access-date= 16 August 2024}}</ref> A different amendment proposed decriminalising abortion up to 24-weeks by making it an automatic right for women and allowing it to be carried out and authorised by an approved clinician if a woman requests it.<ref name="FT, May 2024"/>