Parliament to pardon, expunge records of all UK women who illegally killed preborn babies

Members of the UK House of Commons have approved an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that will automatically pardon and expunge the records of women convicted of illegal abortions in England and Wales as far back as the 1800s. The decision that has ignited fresh debate about how Britain treats abortion, motherhood, and preborn children.

Key Takeaways:

• An amendment to the UK's Crime and Policing Bill adds insult to injury; in addition to decriminalizing self-managed abortion up to birth, Parliament will now "expunge the police records" of women arrested and investigated for illegal abortions as far back as the 1800s.

• Some officials noted that the amendment was never brought for proper discussion and was "slipped" into the bill, which should concern citizens already alarmed by the decriminalization of intentional killing.

• Concerned lawmakers mentioned that women who killed viable, full-term babies in the past will now walk free, as will women in the future who choose to commit such acts.

• Pro-life leaders claim this amendment "disgraces" preborn children, robbing them of justice and treating them as inconsequential instead of a the victims of violence that they are. They also claimed that this amounts to a "false pardon," a "pretense that nothing wrong happens in abortion," and that it will not bring peace to anyone.

The Details:

The bill, which is a Lords amendment, would revise the UK's present Crime and Policing Bill. The Guardian reports:

The amendment to the crime and policing bill, which will also expunge the police records of those arrested and investigated over illegal abortions, was considered in the House of Lords during a phase of parliamentary ping-pong, where a bill passes back and forth between the Lords and Commons.

The bill is expected to receive royal assent – meaning it will become law – in the coming weeks. The same legislation will also put an end to prosecutions of women who terminate their own pregnancies, with a clause in the bill introduced in the Commons last year by the Labour backbencher Tonia Antoniazzi.

Antoniazzi was behind the bill decriminalizing abortion in the UK. She alleged that the new amendment would “protect the women already harmed by these outdated laws,” adding that police records could hinder employment and travel, even in cases without a conviction.

While advocates of the amendment portrayed the issue as an act of justice and mercy, critics say the amendment goes too far.

Sir Edward Leigh cautioned that "As a result of these amendments, somebody who procures a very late term abortion illegally will receive a free pardon.” He referenced the case of Sarah Catt, who induced labour at 39 weeks into her pregnancy following an affair and who was subsequently sentenced to prison in 2012.

According to the BBC:

Sarah Louise Catt, 35, of Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire, took a drug when she was full term, 39 weeks pregnant, to cause an early delivery.

She claimed the boy was stillborn and that she buried his body, but no evidence of the child was ever found. 

Catt made a "deliberate and calculated decision" to end her pregnancy, a Leeds Crown Court judge said.

The judge who sentenced Catt portrayed the crime as lying “between manslaughter and murder.”

Sir Edward added that Catt had "shown no remorse" for the crime — a serious offense now likely to be expunged from the record entirely. But since the UK has decriminalized self-managed abortion up to birth, there are likely to be many, many more cases like that of Sarah Catt.

And now, these cases will not be treated as crimes at all. Full term, viable babies will be killed by their mothers with no criminal or legal repercussions.

The Independent noted:

Shadow Home Office minister Matt Vickers said he and “many people across the country” shared Sir Edward’s concerns, not only about the issue itself, but “the way that it was added into this Bill”.

He argued that it had been “slipped” into the Bill after committee stage and that there has not been “adequate scrutiny” of it.

In response to the amendments, pro-life group SPUC CEO John Deighan declared: 

“This law disgraces the children who have been needlessly destroyed in the past.

Once upon a time they had justice. That has now been robbed from them. Throughout the debate on abortion in the Crime and Policing Bill the pro-abortion MPs have tried to paint a picture of women as lacking the agency to make morally dubious decisions.

This is obviously untrue. SPUC believes that unborn children whose mothers kill them in cold blood – as Sarah Catt did – deserve to be seen. This amendment means they are ignored.”

Clare McCullough, founder and director of the Good Counsel Network (GCN), told Live Action News: 

“We pray that all women who have had abortions, whether freely or, as often is the case, under pressure, find pardon from God and are able to forgive themselves.

Parliament is using this measure to offer a false pardon and a pretense that nothing wrong happens in an abortion. That is not going to bring anyone peace.”

The Bottom Line:

By expunging convictions and hindering any future prosecutions, the government effectively has conveyed the message that killing viable preborn children is not a moral wrong.

While many abortion-minded women have acted under duress, poverty, or fear, the real solution to their problems is not to regularize abortion but to widen life-affirming support for pregnant women, mental‑health care, childcare, and adoption services.