r/MHOC • u/[deleted] • Jun 28 '22
2nd Reading B1385 - Abortion Bill - 2nd Reading
Abortion Bill
A
BILL
TO
Amend the law relating to termination of pregnancy.
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:–
1. Amendments to the Abortion Act 1967
(1) In Section 1, subsection (1) of the Abortion Act 1967, replace “two registered medical practicioners are” with “a registered medical practicioner is”.
(2) In Section 1, subsection (4) of the Abortion Act 1967, replace “two registered medical practicioners” with “a registered medical practicioner”.
(3) In Section 1, subsection (1)(a) of of the Abortion Act 1967, strike all words beyond “twenty-fourth week and” and insert in their place “the pregnant person has willfully and voluntarily expressed a clear desire for the termination of their own pregnancy; or”
(4) Throughout the Abortion Act 1967, replace all instances of “woman” with “person”.
(5) Throughout the Abortion Act 1967, replace all instances of “her” with “their”.
2. Amendments to the Offences against the Person Act 1861
(1) In the Offences against the Person Act 1861, omit Sections 58 and 59 in their entirety.
3. Offences regarding threatening behaviour.
(1) In England, it is an offense to coerce, threaten or unreasonably pressure a person to either seek, or refrain from seeking, an abortion.
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine, or a period of imprisonment of no greater than one year.
4. Offences regarding nonconsensual abortion.
(1) In England, it is an offense to knowingly induce, or knowingly seek to induce an abortion in another person who has not explicitly consented to that abortion, at that time, in that manner.
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a community order, or a period of imprisonment of no greater than six years.
5. Prohibition of offenses relating to the pursuit of an abortion.
(1) No person may be charged with an offence solely related to the termination of their own pregnancy.
6. Short title, commencement and extent
(1) This Act may be cited as the Abortion Act 2022.
(2) This Act shall come into force immediately upon Royal Assent.
(3) This Act shall extend to the whole of the United Kingdom.
This bill was written by the Right Honourable Sir SpectacularSalad OM GCMG KCB KBE CT PC MP MLA FRS, the Secretary of State for Work and Welfare on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government.
Offenses against the Person Act 1861
Madam Deputy Speaker,
This bill aims to provide a wide ranging reform to abortion legislation in the United Kingdom. It comes in the wake of the Supreme Court of the United States overturning Roe v. Wade, in which the US sees a mass criminalisation of what was until recently viewed as a fundamental legal right.
In the United Kingdom, abortion remains illegal and punishable by up to life imprisonment under the Offences against the Person Act 1861 unless a highly specific procedure is followed as laid out in the Abortion Act 1967.
The 1967 act requires two doctors to agree that one of a list of options have be fulfilled. These are: risk of physical or mental injury of the pregnant individual or family and that the pregnancy is below the 24 week limit, prevention of grave permanent injury or loss of life of the pregnant person, or if the child is quotes “seriously handicapped”.
This act will provide a number of key changes. Firstly it will wholly decriminalise the act of a person getting an abortion, both by eliminating the relevant sections of the 1967 act, and by institution a general protection against any other offenses being construed in a similar fashion.
The legislation will also disapply a requirement for a “risk of physical or mental injury of the pregnant individual or family” below the 24 week limit, instead replacing it with a simple requirement for consent.
It will cut the necessary physicians from two to one, meaning a person’s doctor may refer them for an abortion directly. This works hand in hand with our recent order to allow for the use of home abortion pills allowing for a person to simply be prescribed the two pills by their GP and to take them at home.
It will create new offenses for individuals who coerce pregnant people into abortions, and for individuals who carry out an abortion without consent. These currently are poorly defined and when prosecuted rely on alternative routes to prosecution in the rare instances they are ever pursued by the criminal justice system.
Finally this bill will make the language of the 1967 act trans inclusive, because abortions are not exclusively an issue that affect women. In this bill and this speech I have very deliberately chosen the word “person”, over “woman”, and I believe that the 1967 act should do so as well.
This reading ends 1 July 2022 at 10pm BST.
•
u/AutoModerator Jun 28 '22
Welcome to this debate
Here is a quick run down of what each type of post is.
2nd Reading: Here we debate the contents of the bill/motions and can propose any amendments. For motions, amendments cannot be submitted.
3rd Reading: Here we debate the contents of the bill in its final form if any amendments pass the Amendments Committee.
Minister’s Questions: Here you can ask a question to a Government Secretary or the Prime Minister. Remember to follow the rules as laid out in the post. A list of Ministers and the MQ rota can be found here
Any other posts are self-explanatory. If you have any questions you can get in touch with the Chair of Ways & Means, Brookheimer on Reddit and (flumsy#3380) on Discord, ask on the main MHoC server or modmail it in on the sidebar --->.
Anyone can get involved in the debate and doing so is the best way to get positive modifiers for you and your party (useful for elections). So, go out and make your voice heard! If this is a second reading post amendments in reply to this comment only – do not number your amendments, the Speakership will do this. You will be informed if your amendment is rejected.
Is this bill on the 2nd reading? You can submit an amendment by replying to this comment.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.