A storm is brewing around Labour’s controversial push to loosen abortion laws, with dozens of MPs and peers warning the Government is rushing headlong into dangerous territory.
More than 70 parliamentarians have written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, urging ministers to slam the brakes on proposals that would effectively decriminalise abortion right up to birth.
The group, drawn from across the political spectrum, accused the government of bulldozing through sweeping changes without proper scrutiny, consultation or even the most basic safeguards.
The measures are expected to clear the House of Lords on Wednesday, after peers last week backed a clause quietly inserted by MPs, a move critics say sidestepped the usual democratic checks.
Despite the scale of the backlash, the Government has opted to sit on the fence, a stance that has only fuelled accusations of weak leadership. Senior figures, including Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, have already sounded the alarm, warning the plans lack meaningful limits and fail to protect women and unborn children from the risks associated with late term abortions.
In their letter, MPs and peers delivered a scathing assessment, saying the proposals had been pushed forward with no proper impact assessment and no meaningful scrutiny, raising serious questions about how police and medical professionals would cope with such a radical shift.
Among those signing were seven Labour MPs, all eight Reform UK MPs, two members of the Conservative shadow cabinet and Baroness Spielman, a former head of the British Medical Association, an unusually broad alliance united in concern.
At present, late abortion remains a criminal offence in England and Wales, although terminations are permitted up to 24 weeks under strict conditions. Women can also take prescribed abortion pills at home during the early stages of pregnancy.
But under plans originally put forward by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, women seeking abortions at any stage of pregnancy would no longer face prosecution, a dramatic departure from longstanding law.
Supporters claim the change would protect vulnerable women, pointing to cases where individuals have faced police investigations after late term abortions, including situations involving coercion by abusive partners.
Critics, however, say the proposal goes far beyond compassion and into recklessness.
The clause, slipped into legislation by backbench MPs rather than the Government, would strip away key provisions of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, a Victorian era law under which more than 100 women have been prosecuted in recent years.
Even senior church figures have intervened, with Dame Sarah Mullally, the Archbishop of Canterbury, breaking off a pilgrimage to vote against the measure, warning it risks undermining the value placed on unborn life.
The latest intervention raises further thorny questions, including whether doctors would be allowed to step in if complications arise during a late stage abortion, and whether paramedics would still be expected to try to save a baby’s life in such circumstances.
Behind the scenes, pro life campaigners are seething. The letter was coordinated by Right to Life UK, which branded the proposal one of the most extreme pieces of legislation ever to come before Parliament.
Spokeswoman Catherine Robinson accused pro abortion MPs of hijacking a government bill to force through a radical rewrite of the law after less than an hour of debate.
She warned that pressing ahead without proper safeguards, guidance or assessment would be deeply irresponsible, a charge that adds to growing unease over Labour’s handling of the issue.
With ministers refusing to take a clear stance, and criticism mounting from all sides, the row threatens to become yet another flashpoint for a Government already under pressure over its judgment and priorities.
