Domestic Abuse Bill

Dear constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about abortion and proposed amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill.

Abortion is a sensitive and emotive issue and I respect that there are strongly held views on all sides of the debate.

As you are aware, New Clause 29 was proposed before Report Stage of the Domestic Abuse Bill. It sought to decriminalise abortion and to create a new offence of non-consensual termination of pregnancy – which would apply in situations where e.g. a woman’s abusive partner intentionally or recklessly caused her abortion through abusive behaviour.

The Abortion Act 1967 set in law circumstances where abortion would not be illegal. Otherwise,
under the Offences Against the Person Act (OAPA) 1861, it is a criminal offence to provide an abortion or for a woman to end her own pregnancy.

The Government said in July 2019 that it has no plans to amend sections 58 and 59 of the 1861 Act in England and Wales, which criminalise abortion.

Furthermore, New Clause 29 was not considered at Report Stage on 6 July, as it was ruled out of the scope of the Bill by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

As your elected representative in Parliament I will continue to bear in mind the points you have raised and follow any developments in this area closely.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this issue.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Dowd MP