UK lawmakers consider decriminalising abortion amid mounting prosecutions

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00:00It's in the House of Commons that the issue is up for debate.

00:03Are too many women being prosecuted in the UK for terminating their pregnancies?

00:08For the MPs that have put forth two rival amendments, which are part of a broader crime bill,

00:13the some 100 requests for medical records from the police in the last five years

00:17and the around 60 criminal inquiries in England and Wales since 2018 are wrong

00:23and a waste of taxpayers' money.

00:25They want such inquiries to cease.

00:27They've increased since women have had access to home abortion pills since COVID.

00:32The two amendments to the UK's abortion laws would not change the rules over how and when

00:36a woman can terminate a pregnancy or to get help terminating one.

00:41Over 200,000 abortions were performed in England and Wales in 2022.

00:46Those are the latest figures.

00:48In England, Scotland and Wales, a woman can have an abortion until the 24th week of pregnancy

00:52and afterwards, under special circumstances or when the life of the mother is in danger.

00:57The request must be approved by two doctors.

01:00In Northern Ireland, abortion has been decriminalised since 2019.

01:04Of the two rival amendments, one would enshrine abortion as a human right

01:08and it would prevent women who've had to terminate their own pregnancies from being investigated.

01:12The other would maintain punishments for medical professionals if they don't follow the guidelines of the law.

01:19While only one is expected to come up for a vote, both are what we're not.

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