Closed petition: Decriminalise Abortion
Closed on
I am calling on the UK government to remove abortion from criminal law so that no pregnant person can be criminalised for procuring their own abortion.
The U.K is out of step with World Health Organization who in 2022 recommended that barriers to abortion such as criminalisation, or approval of others or institutions should be removed. Amnesty International state that abortion is a human rights issue.
103,653 signatures
Petition progress
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Parliament debated this petition
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Petition closed
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Parliament will debate this petition on 2 June 2025
You’ll be able to watch online on the UK Parliament YouTube channel.
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This petition will be considered for debate in Parliament
This petition got more than 100,000 signatures meaning the Petitions Committee will consider it for debate in Parliament.
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Government responded to this petition
All women have a right to access to safe, legal abortions on the NHS.
Read the response in full
All women have access to safe, legal abortions on the NHS both in a medical setting and at home, where eligible. In England and Wales, the Abortion Act 1967 defines the criteria under which legal terminations can take place. The criminal law in relation to procuring an abortion is contained in the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, in particular sections 58 and 59. At this moment the Government has no plans to make changes to these Acts.
Ministry of Justice
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Government will respond to this petition
This petition got more than 10,000 signatures meaning that government will respond to it.
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Petition published
This petition can now be signed.
If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.
If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.
This petition will stay open until 4 May 2025.