Vulnerable women in England still being arrested over suspected illegal abortions | Abortion

Vulnerable women in England continue to be arrested and investigated by police over alleged illegal terminations of pregnancies, despite Parliament’s support for law changes to decriminalize abortion.

In response to a Freedom of Information request, Nottinghamshire Police and the Metropolitan Police confirmed they arrested women on suspicion of illegal dismissals between June last year and January this year.

Abortion providers said they were aware of several cases that did not appear in the data, with the relevant police forces either refusing the request or reporting that they had not recorded any arrests of women under current law.

Last June, MPs voted overwhelmingly in favor of a change to the law which means that women who carry out a pregnancy termination outside the legal framework will not be able to be prosecuted in England and Wales. However, the legislation is still being passed by Parliament and has not yet become law.

In one case, which occurred after last year’s parliamentary vote, a woman went to hospital and suffered a miscarriage shortly after, at around 17 weeks. When she was examined, tablets were found in her vagina and police were called.

Officers arrested the woman in the hospital’s delivery room and her home was searched while she remained in the delivery room.

The woman, who denied seeking an abortion, suffered from unstable diabetes, which can be particularly difficult to control after giving birth. The police confiscated her electronic devices, through which she used software to monitor her condition and control her insulin pump.

The woman said she felt betrayed by the NHS and police and no longer felt safe using these services. A clinician involved in his care said: “When I called the police I really thought they would offer him support and protection. What happened was horrible.”

The amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, proposed by Labor MP Tonia Antoniazzi and passed with 379 votes for and 137 against, follows an outcry over a rise in prosecutions of women for illegal abortions.

The vote was hailed as the biggest step forward for reproductive rights in England and Wales for 60 years.

The framework within which abortion is available – including the need for the signature of two doctors and the time limits within which terminations of pregnancies can be carried out – remains the same, and doctors who act outside the law still face the threat of prosecution.

In another case involving another police department, a woman in her 40s was arrested over Christmas. She thought she was very early in her pregnancy, but she delivered a fetus in her gestational sac, which was later determined to be approximately 24 weeks old.

She called an ambulance and paramedics reported they found her hyperventilating and panicking. Professionals said there were significant safeguarding concerns and the woman had previously been a victim of domestic violence.

Her children, witnesses to the police intervention, had to leave their home at Christmas while the house was searched. “The search could have included opening their Christmas presents,” one professional said.

Antoniazzi said: “The dystopian treatment of women continues under this Victorian-era law, although the House of Commons has made clear that it has no place in modern society. The police and wider criminal justice system cannot be trusted with abortion law.

“Women have been targeted, vilified and imprisoned following complications from their abortion treatment, miscarriage, stillbirth or premature labor. Forced to endure acute trauma at the worst times of their lives for no reason, because criminalization is completely useless in enforcing abortion law and safeguards.”

New female cases have also been reported to police since June, and investigations may continue.

In one case, a young mother with a young child was referred to the police. The woman lived in a deprived area and was described as “vulnerable” and at “high risk of ending up in an abusive relationship”.

She sought an abortion from the NHS at Christmas 2025 and delivered a fetus, initially estimated to be around 16 weeks old. Despite the fetus being “certainly less than 24 weeks”, which is the legal time limit for an abortion except in certain circumstances where the limits do not apply, the NHS called the police. The case has also been referred to the coroner for an autopsy to be carried out.

“It’s the investigations that are causing the most harm; little progress in indictments and even less in prosecutions,” said Jonathan Lord, co-chair of the RCOG (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) abortion task force.

“The police and CPS have consistently shown – in many areas and in many cases – that they were not acting appropriately or sensitively. In several cases they only targeted the woman and failed to investigate possible abuse by a coercive partner.”

Harriet Wistrich, attorney and director of the Center for Women’s Justice, said: “In some cases, we have seen women being arrested at the hospital shortly after the abortion when they may be extremely traumatized and there is certainly no need to arrest them on the spot.

“But the arrest, investigation and charging will be determined by two criteria: is there sufficient evidence that an offense has been committed and if so, is it in the public interest,” she added. “There are strong arguments that, in circumstances where the House of Commons has voted by a large majority in favor of stopping criminalisation, this discretion should be exercised in the public interest not to make arrests. »

On Wednesday, amendments to the abortion law will be debated again in the House of Lords. Peers proposed a number of changes to the bill, from removing Antoniazzi’s decriminalization clause to pardoning already convicted women and stopping all ongoing police investigations.

“We know from providing reproductive health care on six continents that criminalization harms women and makes abortion less safe,” said Louise McCudden, head of external affairs at MSI Reproductive Choices UK. “The House of Lords now has a historic opportunity to once and for all end the threat of prosecution, pardon women who have already been convicted and abandon ongoing investigations.

“As we see rollbacks in reproductive rights around the world, including in the United States, it is encouraging to see that our parliament is standing up for women.”

A spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs’ Council said: “Police do not routinely investigate unexpected pregnancy losses. An investigation is only launched when there is credible information suggesting criminal activity, and this would often be due to concerns raised by medical professionals.

“Each case would have a unique set of factors to evaluate and investigate based on its individual circumstances.

“It would be up to the lead investigating officer assigned to the case to determine reasonable lines of inquiry to follow, again based on the merits of the specific matter.

“We recognize how traumatic the experience of losing a child is, with many complexities involved, and any investigation of this nature and individuals will always be treated with the utmost sensitivity and compassion.”