LONDON: British lawmakers voted Tuesday to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales after a lawmaker argued that it was cruel to prosecute women for ending a pregnancy.
The House of Commons approved an amendment to a broader crime bill that would prevent women from being criminally punished under an antiquated law.
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour member of Parliament who introduced one of the amendments, said the change was needed because police have investigated more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions over the past five years, including some who suffered natural miscarriages and stillbirths.
Doctors can legally carry out abortions in England, Scotland and Wales up to 24 weeks, and beyond that under special circumstances, such as when the life of the mother is in danger. Abortion in Northern Ireland was decriminalised in 2019.
The vote passed 379-137.