Abortion Laws In London: What You Need To Know

Abortion laws in London, and across the UK, are governed by the 1967 Abortion Act, which allows for legal abortion in a number of specific circumstances. The Act was amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, which reduced the term limit for abortions from 28 to 24 weeks, except in cases where the mother's life is at risk or the child would be born with severe disabilities.

The 1967 Act states that an abortion is legal if it is performed by a registered medical practitioner and authorised by two doctors, acting in good faith, on at least one of the following grounds:

- That the pregnancy has not exceeded 24 weeks and that continuing it would pose a greater risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or her existing children.

- That the termination is necessary to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.

- That continuing the pregnancy would pose a risk to the life of the pregnant woman, greater than if it were terminated.

- That there is a substantial risk that, if born, the child would suffer from physical or mental abnormalities and be seriously handicapped.

The Abortion Act 1967

The act made it lawful to have an abortion up to the 28th week of pregnancy if two registered medical practitioners agreed that continuing the pregnancy would pose a risk to the life of the pregnant woman, or harm her physical or mental health, or that of her family members. The act also regulated the tax-paid provision of such medical practices through the National Health Service (NHS).

The act rendered lawful activities that would otherwise constitute a crime under the Offences Against the Person Act (OAPA) 1861, which made it a crime for a woman to 'procure a miscarriage' or for another person to help her do so. The 1967 act states that an abortion is legal if performed by a registered medical practitioner (a doctor) and authorised by two doctors, acting in good faith, on the following grounds:

• That the pregnancy has not exceeded 24 weeks and that continuing it would pose a greater risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or her existing children.
• That the termination is necessary to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.
• That continuing the pregnancy would pose a risk to the life of the pregnant woman, greater than if it were terminated.
• That there is a substantial risk that, if born, the child would suffer from physical or mental abnormalities and be seriously handicapped.

The act does not apply to Northern Ireland, where abortion law is governed separately.

The Offences Against the Person Act 1861

• Administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion (section 58) - This section replaced the previous legislation from 1839 and allowed for a sentence of life imprisonment.
• Procuring drugs, or any other means, to cause abortion (section 59) - This section carried a potential sentence of three years’ imprisonment.

The content of the 1861 Act was applied in colonial legislation throughout the British Empire in subsequent years, for example, the Offences Against the Person Act 1866 in New Zealand.

In 1967, the Abortion Act was passed, rendering lawful activities that would otherwise constitute a crime under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. The 1967 Act states that an abortion is legal if it is performed by a registered medical practitioner (a doctor) and is authorised by two doctors, acting in good faith, on one or more of the following grounds:

• Risk to the life of the pregnant woman;
• Preventing grave permanent injury to her physical or mental health;
• Risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or any existing children of her family (up to a term limit of 24 weeks of gestation);
• Substantial risk that, if the child were born, they would "suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped".

The third ground is typically interpreted liberally with regards to mental health to create a de facto elective abortion service.

In 2024, proposals to fully decriminalise abortion in Great Britain were made.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990

The HFE Act created the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the world's first regulatory body for these issues. The HFEA is responsible for monitoring and licensing fertility clinics and human embryo research in the UK. It offers information and advice to those seeking treatment and those who have donated embryos or gametes. The HFEA grants licenses and research permissions for up to three years, based on the approval of five steps by the Research License Committee.

The HFE Act covers the creation, care, and use of human embryos outside of the mother's body, as well as the collection, care, and use of donated human sperm and eggs. It also governs the storage of these human gametes and embryos, allowing storage for a finite amount of time under specific conditions regulated by the HFEA.

The act stipulates legal definitions for terms such as "embryo," "gamete," "mother," and "father," to clarify matters of legal and social standing, including inheritance. For example, according to the act, a mother is "the woman who is carrying or has carried a child as a result of the placing in her of an embryo or of sperm and eggs." It also addresses licensing conditions, the code of practice, and the procedure of approval involving human embryos.

The HFE Act has been amended several times since its enactment, including in 2001 to expand the allowable reasons for human embryonic research and in 2008 to ban sex selection of children for social reasons. The 2008 amendment also changed the reference to "the need for a father" to the gender-neutral "need for supportive parenting."

The HFE Act is a comprehensive national policy regulating the use of human embryos and continues to be the primary legal instrument governing their use for medical and scientific purposes in the United Kingdom.

The Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929

Abortion laws in London, and the rest of the United Kingdom, are governed by the Abortion Act 1967. This Act allows for abortions to be carried out by a registered medical practitioner, providing two doctors authorise the procedure on certain grounds. These grounds include the risk to the life of the pregnant woman, preventing grave permanent injury to her physical or mental health, and the risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or any existing children of her family (up to a term limit of 24 weeks of gestation).

The Act states that a child in utero over 28 weeks is deemed "capable of being born alive". If the life of a child in utero is ended before this gestation, evidence must be presented to determine whether the child could have been born alive. The Act also provides a defence if it can be proven that the act was done in good faith to preserve the life of the mother.

In summary, the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 created the offence of child destruction and played a role in shaping abortion laws in the United Kingdom by influencing the interpretation and application of the Abortion Act 1967.

The Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945

Section 25: Child Destruction

Section 25 of the Act creates the offence of child destruction. It states that:

> any person who, with intent to destroy the life of a child then capable of being born alive, by any wilful act causes a child to die before it has an existence independent of its mother, shall be guilty of felony, to wit, of child destruction...

This section provides a defence of acting in good faith to preserve the life of the mother. The offence supplements the offence of abortion (under the Offences against the Person Act 1861), which deals with unborn children not capable of being born alive.

Other Provisions

The Act also includes provisions on:

• Miscellaneous criminal procedure
• Search warrants pertaining to brothels
• Marital coercion
• Prohibition on the taking of photographs in court

Amendments and Repeals

Some sections of the Act have also been repealed, including Section 22, which was repealed by the 2010 c. 23 Sch. 2 amendment.

Impact and Analysis

The recent amendments to the Act, particularly the decriminalisation of abortion, represent a landmark moment in reproductive rights and the protection of women's health. However, the full impact of these changes will depend on how they are interpreted and implemented in practice.

Frequently asked questions