House of Lords votes to kill babies up to moment of birth
Precious Life is outraged by the recent vote in the House of Lords (18th March) to back measures that would decriminalise self-induced abortion up to birth and entrench the dangerous “pills by post” policy.
Peers had the opportunity to reject these extreme proposals. Baroness Monckton courageously put forward an amendment to remove the decriminalisation clause (208), delivering a powerful defence of both women and unborn children. Yet this was voted down by 185 to 148. Similarly, Baroness Stroud’s attempt to end the reckless pills by post scheme was defeated by 191 votes to 119.
This dangerous trajectory did not begin with the House of Lords vote. The push by pro-abortionists to decriminalise abortion can be traced back to 2019. The Westminster Parliament imposed their "Section 9" legislation on Northern Ireland - decriminalising abortion and overriding the will of its people.
As a result, Northern Ireland now has the most extreme abortion law anywhere in Europe. At the time, Precious Life warned that this would not stop there, that it would become the blueprint for sweeping decriminalisation of abortion across the UK.
Tragically, our warnings are now becoming a reality.
What we are witnessing is nothing short of a radical and dangerous rewriting of abortion law, pushed through without proper scrutiny, without consultation with the public, and without any serious attempt to understand the consequences. This is not careful lawmaking. It is an ideological drive that is putting lives at risk.
The pills by post policy has already caused real harm. Reports of rising 999 calls and emergency ambulance interventions paint a deeply troubling picture. Women are being left to undergo abortions alone, without the safety of a face-to-face medical consultation. This is not care. This is abandonment.
Even more shocking is the push to allow abortion right up to the moment of birth. This is an extreme and unprecedented step. It sends a chilling message about how little value is being placed on the most vulnerable.
These sweeping changes have been quietly attached to the Crime and Policing Bill, sidestepping the full debate and scrutiny that such life-and-death issues demand. This is a deliberate attempt to avoid accountability.
It is deeply disturbing that the House of Lords has chosen to support abortion up to birth while rejecting measures that would have strengthened protections for women, such as ensuring medical oversight and access to counselling and support.
If this Bill passes, the consequences will be profound. It would remove legal safeguards entirely, allowing women to carry out their own abortions for any reason, at any stage - even up to and during birth. This opens the door to deeply troubling practices, including sex-selective abortion (most commonly baby girls aborted) and leaves women more vulnerable than ever.
This will lead to a rise in dangerous late-term abortions taking place behind closed doors, putting women’s lives at serious risk. At the same time, more babies will lose their lives at stages where they can easily survive outside the womb.
This is a dark and deeply alarming moment. But Precious Life will not be silent. We will continue to speak out, to stand for truth, and to defend both women and unborn children from these dangerous and extreme proposals.