...More than 30 groups – including the British Medical Association, the Faculty of Public Health, the British Society of Abortion Care Providers and the royal colleges of GPs, nurses, psychiatrists, midwives and anaesthetists – issued a joint statement warning that the current legislation is causing “trauma and cruelty” and demanding “immediate action” to safeguard reproductive rights.

The intervention, led by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), comes after cases where women were prosecuted for illegal abortions under a Victorian-era law that remains in place today.

Six women have appeared in court over the past two years under the Offences against the Person Act. There had previously been only a handful of known convictions since the law was introduced in 1861. It is a criminal offence to have an abortion after 24 weeks or without approval from two doctors, carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment...

“Even if charges are not brought, the impact of the investigation causes life-changing harm to women and their families,” said Dr Jonathan Lord, an NHS gynaecologist and co-chair of the RCOG abortion taskforce. “Many cases do not proceed to a prosecution, but it can take years before the case is dropped.”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/12/unprecedented-rise-in-abortion-prosecutions-prompts-call-for-law-change-from-medical-leaders