Wednesday 14th May 2025
Campaign calls for abortion to be removed from criminal law in England and Wales as MPs prepare for crucial vote in June
Cosmopolitan UK, a longtime champion of women's bodily autonomy, has today announced a partnership with the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), the UK's largest abortion care provider, to launch the "End 1861" campaign. The initiative aims to remove abortion from criminal law in England and Wales, where it currently remains criminalised under Victorian-era legislation.
Despite being essential healthcare that one in three women in the UK will access in their lifetime, abortion provision is still governed by the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 – legislation that predates women's right to vote by over half a century. The maximum sentence it carries is life imprisonment.
While the Abortion Act 1967 introduced exemptions that made abortion legal in certain circumstances - which mean that most women can access safe, legal abortions - the fundamental criminalisation remains in place.
The campaign comes at a critical time. After years with virtually no prosecutions under the 1861 law, the past three years have seen six women appear in court for ending their own pregnancies.
More concerning still, abortion providers report receiving nearly 100 demands from police for women's confidential medical records to pursue alleged abortion offences. Those investigated include domestic abuse survivors, trafficking victims, girls under 18, and women who experienced unexpected premature labour at home – individuals who deserve care and compassion rather than criminalisation.
In June, MPs will vote on an amendment that would remove women from the criminal law in relation to ending their own pregnancy. The changes proposed would have no impact on the provision of abortion care, the laws that govern doctors, nurses and midwives, nor the abortion time limit. The amendment is already backed by more than 30 medical and women's rights organisations across the UK.
Claire Hodgson, Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan UK, stated:
“Cosmopolitan has been campaigning for women’s rights, particularly our reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, since its launch 60 years ago. Like any physical or mental healthcare concern, appropriate processes and guidelines should absolutely be in place. But it is our firm belief, along with this wider coalition of charities and medical professionals, that abortion is just that - healthcare. It is not a crime.”
Heidi Stewart, Chief Executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, said:
“We are proud to stand together with Cosmopolitan at this historic moment for women’s rights. This is our chance to make our voices heard, to bring our Victorian abortion law in to the twenty-first century, and to protect women and girls from the threat of police and prosecution. We urge everyone who supports a woman’s right to choose to contact their MP and join this vital campaign.”
Cosmopolitan UK and BPAS have co-created a simple template here that people can use to email their MP to urge them to add their name to the amendment and use their voice for choice to back bodily autonomy in Parliament.
For background and full list of organisations supporting this amendment, please see here.
For further comment, please contact Katherine O’Brien, Head of Campaigns and Communications at BPAS, on 07881 265276 or email katherine.obrien@bpas.org
Notes
Abortion in England and Wales is still a criminal offence. Under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, having or providing an abortion remains a crime that carries a life sentence. Women accessing abortion in Great Britain do so under the Abortion Act 1967, which did not decriminalise abortion but simply made it legal in certain, fixed circumstances. In 2019, Westminster voted to repeal the laws criminalising women in Northern Ireland, but they remain in force in England and Wales.
Increasing numbers of women in England and Wales are facing criminal prosecution under the 1861 law, passed before women even had the right to vote. In the past three years in England, 6 women have appeared in court charged with ending or attempting to end their own pregnancy outside of the terms of the 1967 Abortion Act. Abortion providers say for every woman who ends up in court, at least 10 others are subjected to prolonged police investigations which can prevent them from getting the mental health support they desperately need and which have resulted in existing children being separated from women whose cases never make it to court.
About BPAS
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, is a charity that sees over 100,000 women a year for reproductive healthcare services including pregnancy counselling, abortion care, miscarriage management and contraception at clinics across Great Britain.
BPAS exists to further women’s reproductive choices. We believe all women should have the right to make their own decisions in and around pregnancy, from the contraception they use to avoid pregnancy right the way through to how they decide to feed their newborn baby, with access to evidence-based information to underpin their choices and high-quality services and support to exercise them.
BPAS also runs the Centre for Reproductive Research and Communication, CRRC. Through rigorous multidisciplinary research and impactful communication, the CRRC aims to inform policy, practice, and public discourse. You can find out more here.