Summary
A new law in England and Wales will pardon women convicted of illegal abortions and erase police records of those arrested or investigated for this. The law aims to stop further prosecutions of women who end their own pregnancies and is expected to become official soon.
Key Facts
- Parliament approved a bill to pardon women convicted under old abortion laws in England and Wales.
- The law will also clear police records of women arrested or investigated for illegal abortions.
- This change ends prosecutions for women who terminate their own pregnancies.
- The bill passed after going back and forth between the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
- It is expected to receive royal assent, meaning it will officially become law soon.
- Historically, very few women were charged with abortion crimes in the 19th century, but recent numbers in 20 years match those old totals.
- Some women, like Fanny Warboys (1862) and Mary Jane Baynon (1891), were punished harshly under previous laws.
- Judges in the past sometimes showed sympathy, considering the difficult situations of women charged with abortion offenses.
