Scrap 'out of date' abortion law - Johnson

Diana Johnson claimed the fact that abortion remains a criminal offence under a law passed in 1861, and carrying a potential life sentence, was putting women in desperate circumstances at risk of breaking the law.

The Hull North MP said: “No other medical procedure in this country is governed by legislation this old or this out of step with clinical developments and changing attitudes.”

Mrs Johnson insisted decriminalising abortion would not make it easier to access abortions beyond the current 24-week time limit or leed to a “free-for-all” of abortions by unlicensed providers.

She also told MPs decriminalisation would not pave the way for abortions on the grounds of gender.

“Women are poorly-served by laws which state that even early term abortions are inherently criminal and doctors are poorly-served by a criminal framework that doesn’t apply to other areas of healthcare.

“We should create an environment where the stigma of the criminal law is removed and where women can come forward for advice and high-quality woman-centred healthcare as early as possible in a pregnancy,” she said.

Mrs Johnson’s ten-minute rule Bill was opposed by Conservative MP Maria Caulfield, who claimed it would be a “charter for unsafe abortion practices”.

She said abortion law needed to “uphold the dignity and rights of the unborn child”.

MPs voted narrowly to allow Mrs Johnson’s Bill to be considered further.