Summary
UK Catholic Baroness Rosa Monckton has warned that proposed legislation to decriminalize abortion up to birth, including for third trimester pregnancies, could lead to coerced home abortions. In an opinion piece in the Daily Mail, she argues this amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, which was passed by just 46 minutes of debate in June, would remove all legal restrictions on women seeking abortions. Baroness Monckton fears this could result in dangerous late-term home abortions without medical supervision. The amendment was introduced by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi and if agreed upon, it would allow a woman to terminate her pregnancy at any stage. Monckton contends that such an approach is “barbaric” as it may encourage unsafe, unsupervised abortion procedures using home-bought pills beyond the 10-week limit designed for clinical settings. She argues this could lead to mothers resorting to lethal injections or other harmful methods. The amendment has been met with criticism from legal and medical experts who have raised concerns about its lack of evidence, public consultation, and potential harm to both women’s health and unborn children.
Key Topics
UK Parliament, Abortion, Catholic Church
