Britain must not import America’s abortion culture war

British politicians tend to avoid the issue of abortion. The subject divides America bitterly, yet Britain has opted for consensus. Now and again, however, a debate about abortion flares up – as it did this week after a number of pressure groups reacted with anger to the jailing of a mother of three who induced an abortion when eight months pregnant, using pills posted to her by the NHS. She pleaded guilty under the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 and will spend a year in jail.

That, according to Clare Murphy, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, is an outrage. She described Britain’s abortion law as ‘archaic’ and called for the end of criminal sanctions. One abortion charity asserted that ‘abortion is healthcare, yet it is still governed by a law from 1861, at a time when healthcare and society were completely different.’ In truth, abortion at such a late stage is illegal almost everywhere – and the modern trend, if anything, is towards tighter regulations given how much more can be done for unborn children.