MPs and peers approve law to pardon women convicted over abortions as far back as 1800s

Law will also expunge police records for women arrested in England and Wales, and stop future prosecutions Legislation to pardon women who have been convicted of illegal abortions has passed its final parliamentary hurdle, paving the way for a landmark change in the law in England and Wales. The amendment to the crime and policing bill, which will also expunge the police records of those arrested and investigated over illegal abortions, was considered in the House of Lords during a phase of parliamentary ping-pong, where a bill passes back and forth between the Lords and Commons. The bill is expected to receive royal assent – meaning it will become law – in the coming weeks. The same legislation will also put an end to prosecutions of women who terminate their own pregnancies, with a clause in the bill introduced in the Commons last year by the Labour backbencher Tonia Antoniazzi. “I’m very pleased that parliament has approved a protection for women already harmed by outdated criminal law related to abortion. This will mean a great deal to these women who have been through an awful ordeal,” Antoniazzi said. “Automatic pardons for convictions or cautions, and expunging the records o