Extreme UK abortion changes sneak through

You might have missed it amidst the understandable focus on coronavirus and its massive impact on our lives, but abortion law in England and Wales has changed. And not in a good way.

The law in Northern Ireland has also changed. Where once a law existed that saved lives, NI will now have one of the most permissive abortion regimes anywhere in the world. Meanwhile in England, women will be allowed to take both abortion pills at home (previously it was only one). The same is true in Wales and Scotland.

The move to allow both abortion pills – mifepristone and misoprostol – at home is perhaps the biggest abortion law change since 1967. It has happened without any Parliamentary debate or scrutiny. In response, CARE lobbied hard behind the scenes and secured a sunset clause in the new policy that means it will end when the Coronavirus Bill is no longer needed. We also secured some additional damage limitation by persuading the government to put in a limit of ten weeks. Not much, admittedly, when you would much rather the policy change wasn’t happening at all, but mitigating it a bit.