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Vulnerable women in England are still being arrested and facing police investigations over suspected illegal pregnancy terminations, despite parliament backing changes to the law to decriminalise abortion.
Responding to a freedom of information request, Nottinghamshire police and the Metropolitan police confirmed they had arrested women suspected of illegal terminations between June last year and this January.
Abortion providers have said they are aware of several cases that do not show up in the data, with the relevant police forces having either refused the request, or reported they had recorded no arrests of women under the relevant legislation.
Last June, MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of a change in the law that will mean women procuring a pregnancy termination outside the legal framework cannot be prosecuted in England and Wales. However, the legislation is still passing through parliament and yet to become law.
In one case, which happened after the parliamentary vote last year, a woman went to hospital and shortly afterwards miscarried at about 17 weeks. When she was examined, tablets were found in her vagina and police were called.
Officers arrested the woman in the hospital’s delivery suite, and her home was searched while she remained on the labour ward.
The woman, who denied seeking an abortion, had unstable diabetes, which can be especially problematic to control after delivery. Police officers confiscated her electronic devices, through which she used software to monitor her condition and control her insulin pump.
The woman said she felt betrayed by the NHS and police, and no longer felt safe engaging with these services. A clinician involved in her care said: “When I called the police, I really thought they would offer her support and protection. What happened was horrifying.”
The amendment to the crime and policing bill, put forward by the Labour backbencher Tonia Antoniazzi and passed with 379 votes in favour and 137 against, came after an outcry about an increase in prosecutions of women over 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 two doctors’ signatures, and the time limits at 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 delivered a foetus in its 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.
Her children, who witnessed the police intervention, had to leave their home over Christmas while the house was searched. “The search may well have included opening their Christmas presents,” one professional said.
Antoniazzi said: “The dystopian treatment of women continues under this Victorian-era law despite the House of Commons being clear that this has no place in modern society. The police and wider criminal justice system cannot be trusted with abortion law.
“Women have been targeted, vilified and imprisoned following complications in their abortion treatment, miscarriage, stillbirth or premature labour. Forced to endure acute trauma at the worst moments of their lives for absolutely no reason, because criminalisation is completely unnecessary for upholding abortion law and safeguards.”
There have also been further instances of women being reported to police since June, where investigations may be continuing.
In one case a young mother with a small child was referred to police. The woman lived in a deprived area, and was described as “vulnerable” and at “high risk of being in an abusive relationship”.
She sought an abortion from the NHS over Christmas in 2025, and delivered a foetus, which was initially estimated to be around 16 weeks. Although the foetus was “definitely under 24 weeks”, which is the legal time limit for abortion, except in certain circumstances to which limits do not apply, the NHS called the police. The case was also referred to the coroner for a postmortem to be carried out.
“It is the investigations that cause most harm; few progress to charging and fewer still to prosecutions,” said Jonathan Lord, the co-chair of the RCOG (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) abortion taskforce.
“The police and CPS have shown consistently – in multiple areas and in numerous cases – that they do not act appropriately or with sensitivity. In several cases they have only targeted the woman, and not investigated potential abuse by a coercive partner.”
Harriet Wistrich, a solicitor and chief executive of the Centre for Women’s Justice, said: “In some of the cases we have seen women being arrested from hospital shortly after the abortion when they may be extremely traumatised and certainly there is no need to arrest them then and there.
“But arrest, investigation and charging will be determined by two tests – is there sufficient evidence that an offence has been committed and if so is it in the public interest,” she added. “There is a strong argument to make that in circumstances where the House of Commons have voted by a large majority to stop criminalisation, that discretion should be exercised in the public interest not to arrest.”
On Wednesday, amendments to abortion law will again be debated in the House of Lords. Peers have proposed a number of changes to the bill, ranging from striking out Antoniazzi’s decriminalisation clause, to pardoning women who have already been convicted, and putting a stop to all ongoing police investigations.
“We know from providing reproductive healthcare across six continents that criminalisation harms women and makes abortion less safe,” said Louise McCudden, MSI Reproductive Choices UK’s head of external affairs. “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 drop ongoing investigations.
“At a time when we are seeing rollbacks in reproductive rights around the world, most notably in the US, it’s encouraging that our parliament is standing up for women.”
A National Police Chiefs’ Council spokesperson said: “Police do not routinely investigate unexpected pregnancy loss. An investigation is only initiated where there is credible information to suggest criminal activity, and this would often be because of concerns raised from medical professionals.
“Each case would have a set of unique factors to be assessed and investigated depending on its individual circumstances.
“It would be at the discretion of the senior investigating officer leading the case to determine which reasonable lines of enquiry to follow, again depending on the merits of the specific case.
“We recognise 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.”
