UK House of Lords set to vote on decriminalizing all self-managed abortions

This week, British lawmakers are set to vote on whether to entrench one of the most drastic changes to abortion law in the modern history of England and Wales, with pro-life advocates cautioning that the stakes — for preborn children and their mothers — could not be higher. Right to Life UK noted in a press release:

Peers will vote tomorrow (Wednesday 18 March) on two landmark amendments brought forward by a group of pro-choice and pro-life female Peers who have come together to overturn the controversial ‘abortion up to birth’ clause (clause 208) in the Bill and reinstate in-person consultations with a medical professional prior to an abortion taking place at home.

Key Takeaways:

• The British House of Lords is expected to vote March 18 on an amendment passed by the House of Commons in 2025, which would decriminalize self-managed abortions in the UK up to birth.

• If passed, women who abort their own children, regardless of whether their children are old enough to survive outside the womb, would be free of criminal penalty.

• A coalition of both pro-life and "pro-choice" Peers in the House of Lords are putting forward amendments in an effort to remove the clause that decriminalizes abortion and to reinstate in-person consultations with physicians before a woman can obtain the abortion pill regimen.

The Details:

After Members of Parliament (MPs) voted in 2025 by a huge margin to eradicate criminal sanctions for women who abort their children, the controversial issue of abortion has resurfaced once again in 2026 in Westminster as members in the House of Lords mull over a series of amendments to the 2025 MP abortion decriminalization bill.

According to pro-life group Christian Concern: 

Clause 208, which decriminalises abortion, was inserted into the Crime and Policing Bill after an amendment was passed in the House of Commons last June, following just 46 minutes of debate.

Amendments may be submitted in the House of Lords up until Tuesday, March 17, a  day prior to their actual consideration, The Guardian reported. The member proposing an amendment has the option to request a vote. Various votes on abortion-related proposals are slated to happen on March 18.

To date, nine amendments concerning abortion have been submitted, with the major amendments consisting of two largely pro-abortion ones versus two pro-life ones.

Right to Life UK notes:

Two amendments have been tabled in response to the clause at Report Stage by Peers who are concerned about its consequences:

• Amendment 424, tabled by Baroness (Rosa) Monckton would remove clause 208 from the Crime and Policing Bill. Baroness Monckton, the close friend and confidante of Princess Diana, is the Founder and Chair of Team Domenica, a charity supporting young people with learning disabilities and autism.

• Amendment 425, tabled by Baroness (Philippa) Stroud would protect women by reinstating in-person consultations with a medical professional before abortion pills can be prescribed. Baroness Stroud is the Chair of the Low Pay Commission and co-founder of the Centre for Social Justice. 

The amendments are being supported and have been co-signed by a diverse and cross-party group of respected and experienced female Peers....

In 2025, MPs approved an amendment to the government’s wide‑ranging crime and policing bill that effectively decriminalizes women for self-administered abortions at any stage of pregnancy, despite the country's law restricting abortion after 24 weeks. Abortion supporters lauded the vote — 379 in favour, 137 against — as the largest advance in “reproductive rights” in 60 years. But the amendment was met with huge concern by church leaders and pro‑life advocates. 

Under this amendment, women would no longer be prosecuted for aborting their own children, effectively eradicating the deterrent of criminal law even if those babies are old enough to survive outside the womb.

Commentary:

In response to the 2025 amendment, Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, remarked that “this decision significantly reduces the protection of unborn lives and will result in grave harm for pregnant women,” elaborating that the move “will result in women being more alone, vulnerable, and isolated.”

Likewise, pro-life groups like the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) have contended that the 2025 vote will endanger both women and viable unborn children by normalizing self‑administered, late‑term abortions and eroding safeguards around risky abortion drugs.

Alithea Williams of SPUC commented:

“If this clause becomes law, a woman who aborts her baby at any point in pregnancy, even moments before birth, would not be committing a criminal offence. Our already liberal abortion law allows an estimated 300,000 babies a year to be killed. Now, even the very limited protection afforded by the law is being stripped away.”

The Bottom Line:

Should Parliament choose eventually to maintain the decriminalization of abortion, the measure will take effect instantly upon obtaining royal assent. If Britain were to slide into total decriminalization of abortion and no longer acknowledge that unborn babies are worthy of even minimal protection up to birth, then future efforts to reduce time limits, curb sex‑selective abortion, or prevent discrimination against babies with disabilities will become even less likely.

Christian Concern has urged members of the public to write to members of the House of Lords to back the “amendment to remove a clause in the Crime and Policing Bill which decriminalises abortion.”