Research, data analysis, and commentary on abortion, fertility trends, and pro-natal policies.
Dame Diana Johnson’s proposed amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, NC1,[i] seeks to remove women from criminal prosecution if they are found to have self-managed their own abortion. In England and Wales, it is currently legal for a woman to do so through medical abortion until 9-weeks-6-days of pregnancy have elapsed. The equivalent limit is... Continue Reading →
Abortion campaigners have raised concern about the increasing number of women facing police investigation for illegal abortions. In March, during the Report Stage for the Criminal Justice Bill, it is expected that MPs will debate Dame Diana Johnson’s amendment, NC1, which calls for women to be removed from the criminal law related to abortion, thus... Continue Reading →
The Home Office data simply do not support Dr Lord’s claim of an ‘unprecedented’ increase in police investigations and prosecutions when women are suspected of performing their own illegal abortion.
In an interview with the BBC, Dr Jonathan Lord, medical director at MSI Reproductive Choices, raised concerns about an ‘unprecedented’ number of women being investigated by police on suspicion of illegally ending their pregnancy. He said that he knows of up to 60 criminal inquiries in England and Wales since 2018, compared with almost zero... Continue Reading →
Dr Lord, medical director at MSI Reproductive Choices, told the BBC that he knows of up to 60 women facing criminal inquiries for suspected abortion crime in England and Wales since 2018, compared with almost zero before. However, Home Office data show only a small uptick in 2022/23, compared to the eight years before that;... Continue Reading →
We can now say with more certainty that in 2022, the total abortions in England and Wales will have been about 250,000, a substantial year-on-year increase of 17%, compared with an annual average increase of less than 3% over the last 53 years. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has only published data... Continue Reading →
Dr Jonathan Lord, medical director at MSI Reproductive Choices, reports to The Guardian that he is aware of up to 30 “deeply traumatic” cases where women have been investigated by the police, after being accused of managing their own illegal abortion, with some suffering “life-changing harm”. For me, there is little doubt that these heart-rending... Continue Reading →
On Thursday 25 January, the Criminal Justice Bill Committee debated and then withdrew the proposed amendments NC1 and NC2, tabled by Dame Diana Johnson MP and Stella Creasy MP, respectively. Noting that abortion is a very sensitive and incredibly important issue, committee members agreed not to vote on the amendments but rather to leave the... Continue Reading →
In the last five years across England and Wales, at least 39,000 women have been treated at NHS hospitals for complications arising from failed or incomplete DIY medical abortions at home; in the past, these complications would have been treated at the abortion providers’ facilities. Five years ago, abortion was only provided at approved abortion... Continue Reading →
I submitted written evidence to the Criminal Justice Bill Committee in response to the proposed (abortion decriminalisation) amendments NC1 and NC2 submitted by MPs Dame Diana Johnson and Stella Creasy, respectively. Executive Summary Self-management of a medical abortion at 12-weeks or greater gestational age is considered unsafe, and thus not to be recommended, by the... Continue Reading →
Its directors say that the last few years have been a ‘turbulent period within BPAS’; that seems like a fair conclusion given damning reviews from the Care Quality Commission, the loss of £millions, a failed IVF business, and the resignation of the CEO and more than half of the senior officers. The BPAS Annual Report... Continue Reading →
Kevin Duffy, former global director of clinics development at MSI, said the organisation was among those letting “women obtain pills-by-post” despite the dangers of an “incomplete abortion” requiring medical help. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he said Dr Lord’s “perceived ‘problem’ of an increasing number of prosecutions is one of his own making and could... Continue Reading →
The Guardian, asking about what might be causing the recent increase in prosecution cases being brought against women suspected of an illegal abortion, says “it’s fair to say no one really knows for sure why…” and then in the very next part of the same sentence says, “the increased use of pills obtained to do... Continue Reading →
Dr Jonathan Lord, medical director for MSI Reproductive Choices, speaking on behalf of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, warns doctors that they must not report to the police any woman suspected of an illegal abortion. He said that new guidance will state that a healthcare worker must "justify" any disclosure of patient data... Continue Reading →
BPAS, Marie Stopes, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a further twenty-four abortion-supporting organisations recently submitted their co-signed written evidence to the Criminal Justice Bill Committee. They did so in response to amendment NC1 tabled at the end of November by Labour MP, Dame Diana Johnson. You can read more about this and other amendments... Continue Reading →
BPAS is the largest abortion organisation in the UK, likely to have provided more than 100,000 abortions in 2023 (about 45% of all abortions). BPAS is collaborating with Dame Diana Johnson in her attempt to have abortion decriminalised in England and Wales. It is an organisation that has been struggling in recent years: In the... Continue Reading →
In June 2023, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) published a position statement from a coalition of 33 organisations calling for reform of the abortion law in England and Wales. The two amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill (CJB), tabled on 28 November 2023 by Dame Diana Johnson and Stella Creasy MP, are... Continue Reading →
On 28 November 2023, Dame Diana Johnson and Stella Creasy MP both submitted proposed amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill.[i] Whilst they have taken two different approaches, both want changes made to ensure that no woman faces prosecution or jail time for ending her pregnancy, at any gestation. These amendments had been widely advertised by... Continue Reading →
On 23 November 2023, the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (OHID), part of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), published new official statistics reporting the rate of complications arising from abortions in England. Previous reporting from the DHSC relied solely on data gathered from the HSA4 forms that are routinely submitted by... Continue Reading →
Britain is facing a “baby bust”, we are not having enough children and unless we fix this our country will need significantly higher immigration or suffer economic ruin. This is the stark message being delivered by Miriam Cates MP and her colleagues at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship – and they are not wrong. In... Continue Reading →
