UK members of parliament (MPs) will vote on decriminalizing abortion on June 17, after an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill was tabled by Labour MPs. The bill would remove the threat of prosecution for women who seek an abortion without medical approval.

Under current laws, abortion is a criminal offense in England and Wales and can be prosecuted under the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 (OAPA), legislation dating back to the Victorian era. Under a reform of the OAPA, the Abortion Act 1967, abortion is allowed up to 24 weeks into the pregnancy, with the sign-off of two doctors, and with proof that the mental and physical health of the woman would be at greater risk if the pregnancy went ahead than if it were terminated.

Abortions after 24 weeks are only allowed in limited circumstances: if the woman’s life is in danger, the foetus suffers from a severe abnormality, or the woman is at risk of grave physical and mental injury.

Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi tabled the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill in May, which would decriminalize abortion by removing criminal liability for two provisions under the OAPA and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929: (I) administering drugs or using instruments to procure and abortion, and (II) procuring drugs for this purpose. This would effectively allow women to seek abortions without a doctor’s permission, unless the process were conducted in a hospital. It has been signed by 162 MPs.

After tabling the amendment, Antoniazzi stated on X: “It is dystopian that women are facing criminal investigations for seeking medical care at the most desperate moments of their lives. This has got to end.” However, anti-abortion campaign groups such as Right to Life UK have warned that the amendments risk bringing back the “backstreet abortion,” posing health risks to women who do not correctly self-administer.

Labour MP Stella Creasy tabled a competing amendment to the bill, which similarly proposes to repeal abortion-related offenses in the OAPA and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929. It goes a step further to also remove liability from third parties who facilitate abortions (doctors, for example). 108 MPs have so far signed the proposal.

MPs are expected to be given a “free vote” on the issue on June 17, meaning that there is no obligation on them to vote with their parties.