UK Abortion Law, punishment for Violation: What you should know

Recently, a UK woman was sentenced to prison for 28 months by a United Kingdom court for pleading guilty to aborting her pregnancy after the permissible time limit of ten weeks, raising questions about the 168-year-old UK abortion law. 

Getting an abortion after 10 weeks is an offence in the UK under the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861. Under the British abortion law, based on the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, abortion is not a right but an offence. This law criminalises all types of abortion. Women are punished with imprisonment if convicted. Women cannot abort their pregnancy beyond the legally permissible time limit of ten weeks.

The law allowed an exception in 1929, which introduced termination of pregnancy only to save the life of the mother. A further amendment was introduced in 1938 after a doctor terminated the pregnancy of a 14-year-old girl who had been raped by four soldiers. The Abortion Act of 1967 allowed abortions on certain grounds by registered practitioners. Later on, the 1967 Abortion Act was amended on August 30, 2022, to allow women in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy to get an abortion. 

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UK woman who was sentenced to 28 months in prison

The UK woman said that she was unable to get an ultrasound because she got pregnant during the Covid-19 lockdown. She bought the abortion pills from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service to terminate her pregnancy. She revealed that she was not aware of how advanced her pregnancy was during the covid-19 lockdown. Reportedly, she exceeded the 10-week limit to induce abortions. 

The incident came to light on May 11, 2020. Since then, the lady has attended several hearings in court. In March, this year, the lady pleaded guilty to the offence. On June 12, the woman appeared before a Crown Court for her sentencing of 28 months for abortion.