Women who have been convicted of illegal abortions in England and Wales will be pardoned after legislation to expunge their convictions passed its final hurdle in the UK parliament on 17 April 2026, in a move that will also stop the prosecution of women who end their pregnancies.
The new law will have a significant impact on the lives of women who have been affected by the previous legislation, which had led to the prosecution and conviction of many for undergoing abortions. The legislation will apply to women who were convicted under laws that made abortion a crime, and will effectively clear their names and remove the stigma associated with these convictions. This change in the law is seen as a major step forward for women's rights and reproductive freedom in England and Wales. The pardons will be automatic, meaning that women will not have to apply for them, and will be granted regardless of the circumstances of their conviction.
The passage of this legislation is part of a broader trend towards the liberalisation of abortion laws in the UK, and reflects changing attitudes towards women's reproductive rights. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need to protect women's autonomy and freedom to make choices about their own bodies, and to ensure that they have access to safe and legal abortion services. The fact that women were previously prosecuted and convicted for undergoing abortions is now widely seen as a historical injustice, and the new law is an attempt to rectify this. The pattern of reform in this area is likely to continue, with campaigners pushing for further changes to the law to ensure that women have access to abortion services without fear of prosecution or stigma.
The reaction to the passage of the legislation has been largely positive, with women's rights groups and campaigners welcoming the move as a major step forward for reproductive freedom. The next steps will involve the implementation of the new law, which will require changes to the way that convictions are recorded and processed. The implications of the legislation are likely to be far-reaching, and will affect not only the women who have been convicted of illegal abortions but also those who may be considering undergoing an abortion in the future. The change in the law will help to reduce the stigma associated with abortion, and will ensure that women are able to access safe and legal abortion services without fear of prosecution.
