Calls for reform of UK abortion laws after woman jailed for late termination
A two-year prison sentence for a woman in England who terminated a pregnancy after the legal time limit has alarmed abortion rights advocates and prompted calls for reform of the Victorian statute under which the mother of three was convicted.
Labour MP Stella Creasy said the criminal legal regime that governs the procedure was “arcane” and meant women were at risk of being “prosecuted for exercising what we consider to be a human right”. Campaigners demanding decriminalisation of abortion plan to march from London’s Royal Courts of Justice to Westminster on Saturday.
However, she stopped short of calling for the decriminalisation of abortion regulations and said “of course there need to be time limits”. She called for the Sentencing Council, an independent body that seeks to promote consistency in sentencing, to consider drawing up guidelines to stop “vulnerable women sent to prison like this” and asked if the government would “review” the legal framework.
Some Conservative lawmakers — including Caroline Nokes, chair of the Commons’ women and equalities select committee — have also said there is a case for a rethink of the law.
Yet Sheldon questioned whether there was enough political will to create the necessary parliamentary time to enable legislative change.
“Government just don’t want to deal with this,” she said. “They don’t want the divisions — nor the hostile mail.”
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Alistair Gray
