Lords urged to ensure women criminalised for abortion are ‘not left behind’

House to consider amendment that would pardon women in England and Wales affected by prior unjust' laws

Women who have been arrested, investigated and convicted under abortion legislation in England and Wales must not be left behind" if the law is changed to prevent women being criminalised in future, campaigners have said.

Last summer, the House of Commons voted to end the criminalisation of women who terminate their pregnancies outside the legal framework, through a new clause in the crime and policing bill.