What are the abortion laws in the UK?

‘If you’re under 16, your parents do not usually need to be told,’ NHS says

Abortions can legally be carried out within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy in England, Scotland and Wales (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A woman has been jailed for more than two years in prison for taking abortion pills after the legal cut-off in a case that has sparked fury among campaigners.

Carla Foster, a 44-year-old with three children, got hold of the pills under the government’s “pills by post” scheme that allows the termination of unwanted pregnancies up to 10 weeks.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Monday heard Foster, who fell pregnant in 2019, had lied to leading UK abortion provider British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) during a telephone consultation about how far along her pregnancy was so she could get hold of the pills.

The court heard Foster was between 32 to 34 weeks pregnant when she took them – with Justice Pepperall saying she felt “very deep and genuine remorse”, was “racked with guilt” and still had nightmares over her actions.

Politicians, abortion providers, and campaigners have condemned the decision to imprison the mother as they warned the case demonstrates why abortion care must be urgently decriminalised in the UK.

What are the UK laws on abortion?

Abortions can legally be carried out within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy in England, Scotland and Wales. While medical abortions can only be conducted up to 10 weeks into pregnancy, surgical abortions can be performed up to 23 weeks and six days into a pregnancy.

Terminations can only be performed after the 24-week-cut off point in a highly limited number of contexts – such as when the mother’s life is at risk or the child will have a severe disability.

Abortions must be approved by two doctors, with the health professionals agreeing continuing with the pregnancy would be riskier for the physical or mental health of the woman than having an abortion. While this is what the law stipulates, in reality, abortions can be given whatever the person’s reasoning for the termination is in the UK.

The 1967 Abortion Act, which meant pregnancy terminations were legal in the UK, was never widened to include Northern Ireland. Abortion was banned in almost all circumstances, even rape and incest, with women seeking terminations facing life imprisonment, until the procedure was legalised in Northern Ireland in October 2019.

What criticisms are directed at the way current abortion law works in the UK?

Abortions are still deemed a criminal act in England, Scotland and Wales under the 1967 Abortion Act. If a medical professional delivers an abortion outside of the terms of the 1967 act, they are at risk of being prosecuted.

Legislation passed in 1861 means any woman who ends a pregnancy without getting legal permission from two doctors can face up to life imprisonment.

For years, abortion providers, charities, medical bodies, and MPs have been calling for abortion to be decriminalised in the UK. They want to see abortion law extricated from criminal law and monitored in the same way that other medical practices are – with the British Medical Association in favour of the decriminalisation of abortion in the UK.

Previous research from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), the UK’s largest abortion provider, discovered doctors think Britain’s “outdated” abortion law hampers their ability to provide the best care for women.

The report also found doctors think rules such as making two doctors sign off abortion forms give rise to delays, with researchers also discovering the threat of prosecution makes doctors less likely to pursue a career in this area of medicine.

Although abortion is criminalised in the UK, in Northern Ireland it has now been decriminalised.

How can you get an abortion in the UK?

There are two types of abortion: a medical abortion and a surgical abortion. Having a medical abortion involves taking two tablets. A surgical abortion is a minor operation to remove the pregnancy.

Prior to the pandemic, getting the first tablet, mifepristone, for a medical abortion required a visit to an abortion clinic. But after Covid hit, the government allowed the medication to be sent by post to be taken at home after a phone consultation, a system referred to as “telemedicine”.

MPs voted at the end of March last year to make at-home early medical abortions permanent in England after a lengthy campaign by pregnancy termination services to keep the measures in place. Some 215 politicians voted for the initiative, while 188 voted against it.

The NHS website states there are three main ways to get an abortion – noting you can get in touch directly with an abortion provider, such as the aforementioned BPAS, MSI Reproductive Choices UK, or the National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory Service (NUPAS).

Another option is to go to a GP and asked to be referred to an abortion service, or thirdly to contact a sexual health clinic to ask them to refer you for an abortion.

What NHS support is available for having an abortion?

The NHS states any woman seeking an abortion “can discuss their options with, and receive support from, a trained pregnancy counsellor if they wish”. It notes “impartial information and support” can be sought via a GP or another doctor working at your GP practice, or through “a counselling service at the abortion clinic” or “organisations such as Brook (for under-25s), BPAS, MSI Reproductive Choices UK and NUPAS”.

The NHS continues: “You may also want to speak to your partner, friends or family, but you do not have to. They do not have a say in your decision. If you do not want to tell anyone, your details will be kept confidential.

“If you’re under 16, your parents do not usually need to be told. The doctor or nurse may encourage you to tell a parent, carer or other adult you trust, but they will not make you.”

How is the law in the UK different to abortion laws in the US?

Millions of women and people with wombs lost their legal right to have a termination in the US in June 2022 after Roe v Wade – the landmark decision that legalised abortion nationwide in 1973 – was overturned by the US Supreme Court.

Since Roe was overturned, most pregnancy terminations are now banned in 13 US states. Abortion services across the US have radically changed in the space of year, with most of the states who have rapidly curtailed pregnancy terminations in the wake of Roe’s dismantling choosing not to allow pregnancy terminations even in cases of rape or incest.