In England, vulnerable women continue to be arrested and face police investigations for alleged illegal terminations of pregnancies, despite parliament backing changes to the law to decriminalize abortion.
In response to a freedom of information request, Nottinghamshire Police and the Metropolitan Police confirmed they had arrested women suspected of unlawful dismissals between June last year and January this year.
Abortion providers have said they are aware of several cases that do not appear in the data, and relevant police forces either rejected the request or reported that they had not recorded arrests of women under relevant legislation.
Last June, MPs voted overwhelmingly in favor of a change in the law that will mean women who seek abortions outside the legal framework will not be able to be prosecuted in England and Wales. However, the legislation is still being passed by parliament and has not yet become law.
In one case, after last year’s parliamentary vote, a woman went to the hospital and suffered a miscarriage shortly after, at approximately 17 weeks. When they examined her, pills were found in her vagina and the police were called.
Officers arrested the woman in the hospital delivery room and searched her home while she remained in the delivery room.
The woman, who denied seeking an abortion, had unstable diabetes, which can be especially problematic to control after childbirth. Police officers confiscated his electronic devices, through which he used software to monitor his condition and control his insulin pump.
The woman said she felt betrayed by the NHS and the police, and no longer felt safe using these services. A doctor involved in his care said: “When I called the police, I really thought they would offer him support and protection. What happened was horrible.”
The amendment to the Crime and Police Bill, introduced by Labor MP Tonia Antoniazzi and passed by 379 votes to 137, came after an outcry over a rise in the prosecution of women for illegal abortions.
The vote was hailed as the biggest step forward for reproductive rights in England and Wales in 60 years.
The framework under which abortion is accessed – including the need for the signature of two doctors and the time limits in which terminations can be carried out – remains the same, and doctors who act outside the law still face the threat of prosecution.
In another case involving a different police force, a woman in her 40s was arrested over Christmas. She had thought she was very early in pregnancy, but she gave birth to a fetus in her gestation sac, which was later determined to be around 24 weeks.
She called an ambulance and paramedics reported they found her hyperventilating and panicking. Professionals said there were significant safeguarding concerns and the woman had a history of being a victim of domestic abuse.
His children, who witnessed the police intervention, had to leave their home during Christmas while the house was searched. “The search may have included opening his Christmas presents,” one professional said.
Antoniazzi said: “The dystopian treatment of women continues under this Victorian-era law despite the House of Commons making clear that this has no place in modern society. “Abortion law cannot be trusted to the police or the wider criminal justice system.
“Women have been attacked, vilified and imprisoned for complications in their abortion treatment, miscarriages, stillbirths or premature birth. Forced to endure acute trauma at the worst moments of their lives for no reason, because criminalization is completely unnecessary to uphold the law and safeguards of abortion.”
There have also been new cases of women reported to the police since June, where investigations may continue.
In one case, a young mother with a small child was referred to the police. The woman lived in a deprived area and was described as “vulnerable” and at “high risk of being in an abusive relationship”.
She requested an abortion from the NHS over Christmas 2025 and gave birth to a fetus, which was initially estimated to be around 16 weeks. Although the fetus was “definitely less than 24 weeks”, which is the legal time limit for abortion, except in certain circumstances where no limits apply, the NHS called the police. The case was also referred to the medical examiner for an autopsy.
“It’s the investigations that do the most damage, with little progress in bringing charges and even less progress in prosecutions,” said Jonathan Lord, co-chair of the RCOG (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) abortion task force.
“The police and the CPS have consistently shown – in multiple areas and in numerous cases – that they do not act appropriately or sensitively. In several cases they have only attacked the woman and have not investigated possible abuse by a coercive partner.”
Harriet Wistrich, a lawyer and executive director of the Center for Women’s Justice, said: “In some of the cases we have seen women arrested in hospital shortly after the abortion when they could be extremely traumatized and there is certainly no need to arrest them at that time.
“But arrest, investigation and prosecution will be determined by two tests: whether there is sufficient evidence that a crime has been committed and, if so, whether it is in the public interest,” he added. “There is a strong argument that, in circumstances where the House of Commons has voted by a large majority to stop criminalisation, that discretion must be exercised in the public interest not to arrest.”
Amendments to the abortion law will be debated again in the House of Lords on Wednesday. Her peers have proposed a series of changes to the bill, ranging from removing Antoniazzi’s decriminalization clause to pardoning women who have already been convicted and ending all ongoing police investigations.
“We know from the provision of reproductive health services on six continents that criminalization harms women and makes abortion less safe,” said Louise McCudden, director of external affairs at MSI Reproductive Choices UK. “The House of Lords now has a historic opportunity to end the threat of prosecution once and for all, pardon women who have been previously convicted and abandon ongoing investigations.
“At a time when we are seeing rollbacks in reproductive rights around the world, especially in the United States, it is encouraging that our parliament is standing up for women.”
A spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs’ Council said: “Police do not routinely investigate unexpected pregnancy loss. An investigation is only launched when there is credible information suggesting criminal activity, and this is often due to concerns raised by medical professionals.
“Each case would have a unique set of factors that would be evaluated and investigated depending on its individual circumstances.
“It would be at the discretion of the senior investigating officer leading the case to determine what reasonable lines of inquiry to pursue, again depending on the merits of the specific case.
“We recognize how traumatic the experience of losing a child is, with many complexities involved, and any investigation of this nature and individuals will always be treated with the utmost sensitivity and compassion.”
