From the Crime of Abortion to the Crime of Expressing Opposition to Abortion: Abortion Law in the UK

Abstract

Abortion law in the United Kingdom is different in England and Wales; Scotland; and Northern Ireland. In all three jurisdictions abortion was a common law offence. In England, Wales, and Ireland it became a statutory offence. The Abortion Act 1967 extended a medical exception to that offence for England, Wales and Scotland. In Northern Ireland abortion remained illegal until 2020. There are moves to ‘decriminalise’ abortion in England, Wales, and Scotland, and increasingly to criminalise expressions of opposition to abortion. It is becoming a criminal offence even to pray silently in the vicinity of an abortion clinic.