In a landmark vote, the UK Parliament has moved to decriminalise abortion. If the law passes through parliament, it will mean women in England and Wales can no longer be prosecuted for self-managing abortions, even if the procedure falls outside of the existing legal framework.
The move brings the UK closer in line with countries like Australia, where abortion has been decriminalised in all states and territories since 2021.
In May 2025, NSW passed further legislation allowing Nurse Practitioners and Endorsed Midwives to prescribe medical abortions up to nine weeks’ gestation.
The reform is designed to improve access, particularly in regional, rural and remote areas where timely care has often been challenging to obtain and was welcomed by the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre, which is now planning to provide the service to women in the region, subject to funding.
The UK law change follows a rise in criminal investigations involving women who obtained abortion medication online during the pandemic.
More than 100 women have faced police inquiries in recent years, prompting criticism from health professionals and legal experts who argued the outdated law was harming vulnerable women. While doctors who perform unlawful abortions can still face prosecution, women themselves will no longer be treated as criminals.
The amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, which passed 379 votes to 137 in the House of Commons, repeals sections of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act that made it a criminal offence for a woman to end her own pregnancy.
The reform is designed to protect women while maintaining penalties for medical professionals and abusive partners who terminate a pregnancy outside the current legal framework.
The current rules, including the 24-week gestational limit and the requirement for approval from two doctors, remain in place.
In New South Wales, abortion was removed from the Crimes Act of 1900 in October 2019 with the passage of the Abortion Law Reform Act.
The UK decision is seen as an important and overdue correction to a legal framework that has long been considered punitive.
Commenting on the UK vote, Sally Stevenson, Executive Director of the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre, said: “We believe women around the globe should have safe, timely, legal and affordable access to abortion. Women’s rights mean full autonomy over our bodies, including the right to have an abortion. Abortion is a medical procedure within a health framework and should not be seen as a criminal or moral act. It’s great to see the law in the UK supporting women’s rights.”
