Beyond the decriminalisation of abortion
Decriminalisation of abortion is essential, but it’s only part of the picture
“I don’t have an ultrasound. Because of the situation with abortion in Poland, I have not been to a doctor. I have taken four pregnancy tests. If it’s really necessary, I will try to find a doctor I can trust.”
When Kasia* contacted the Abortion Support Network helpline for confidential support to access an abortion, she believed she was 14 weeks pregnant – but she did not know for certain. The fear of a doctor finding out about an unplanned pregnancy was too much. In 2019, Poland’s already restrictive abortion laws were tightened. While it is not against the law in Poland to terminate a pregnancy by travelling abroad, the stigma generated by criminal legislation and vocal anti-abortion movements creates a culture of fear for many women and pregnant people.
The World Health Organization deems abortion care a human right and essential health care. Access to safe abortion is a key factor in reducing maternal death rates and improving community health. But even where abortion is decriminalised, the right to abortion care is not always upheld.
France is a pro-choice country, and enshrined the right to abortion in its Constitution in 2023. But behind this is the reality that hundreds of women and pregnant people are still forced to travel and pay privately for an abortion abroad. People like Anna*, a 14-year-old from Paris who contacted Abortion Support Network after finding out she was pregnant two weeks after the gestation limit in France. To access care, Anna was facing a bill of €1300 and the complexities of travelling to access healthcare abroad.
What are the barriers to accessing abortion?
Alongside restrictive legislation and policy, there are many barriers to abortion care. Healthcare professions may opt out of the second trimester abortion training, meaning there are not many trained staff. Conscientious objection means healthcare workers can deny abortion care based on personal beliefs. For example, abortion is legal and free in Italy, but an estimated 71% of gynecologists are registered as conscientious objectors. And for many, there is no local access to abortion – which means they have to travel.
The rollback of abortion rights in the USA has dominated the news in the 2020s. But this is not a distant threat. Anti-abortion groups are organising globally. Just last year they spent over £1 million in the UK on the spread of misinformation and abortion stigma, creating conditions to restrict access.
The reality is those with money and travel documentation will always be able to travel for abortion care. It is those with the fewest resources who are forced to make impossible choices. Like Kasia’s choice between feeding her children or accessing abortion care.
Has abortion been decriminalised in the UK?
In England and Wales, the public are largely supportive of abortion. Yet abortion is criminalised, which is a constant threat to our abortion access. We have all followed the story of Nicola Packer, last month found innocent after years of being dragged through criminal proceedings with the charge of ‘illegally obtaining an abortion’. Her overtly traumatising experience evidences how abortion restriction is a form of state violence.
Abortion remains criminalised in England and Wales through the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act and the 1929 Infant Life Preservation Act. In Scotland, new legislation would be required to make clear that abortion is no longer a common law crime. But abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in 2019.
On 17 June, MPs voted in favour of NC1, an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill which will provide some protection to women** who terminate their own pregnancies. NC1 will not repeal any of the laws that criminalise abortion, but seeks to ‘remove women from the law related to abortion’ so people shouldn’t be charged for ending their own pregnancy. It will not protect those who assist someone in obtaining an abortion outside of the law, which leaves healthcare workers and others open to increase surveillance and prosecution under the new Crime and Policing Bill. We must also urgently support campaigns to fully decriminalise abortion, protect abortion providers (including enforcing buffer zones), protect telemedicine and protect the existing gestational limit, which are all facing threats from well-funded anti-choice lobbying groups.
What is the Crime and Policing Bill?
Whether or not NC1 comes into force depends on the passing of the Crime and Policing bill into law. This legislation has a stated intention of reducing violence against women, but is overtly harmful to marginalised groups including migrants and refugees, people of colour, working class communities and activists.
The world we want will not be created through a parliamentary bill to increase police powers.
Anna and Kasia received support to access abortion care safely and legally abroad through an international network of community activists, individual donors, healthcare workers and volunteers. To protect abortion rights, we need to build communities that centre care and respect for bodily autonomy and human rights.
Decriminalisation of abortion is essential. But human rights are not trading cards; abortion rights will not be won by sacrificing our right to protest, to move freely and to live without fear of invasive surveillance and unjust prosecution. The radical change we need to protect our right to safe and dignified abortion care will not be delivered via the Crime and Policing Bill.
*Names and some details have been changed for anonymity.
**NC1 used the term ‘women’ in its wording, and as a trans-inclusive organisation ASN believes in using more inclusive terminology to describe people who access abortions. In the context of the recent EHRC ruling, we believe it is even more important to speak up in support of trans and non-binary people, and to steer away from gender essentialist language.