Abortion

Press Statement – FET Deplores Unjust and Inhumane Abortion Amendment

June 18, 2025

The Family Education Trust (FET) has expressed its strongest and most profound opposition to an amendment to the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill which would disapply the crimes of ‘unlawful procurement of miscarriage’ and ‘child destruction’ to women who engage in ‘DIY’ chemical abortions outside of what is permitted by the Abortion Act 1967.

In an essay published by the Family Education Trust ahead of the vote yesterday evening, FET’s Director, Peter D. Williams, provided key context for why abortion ‘decriminalisation’ is  extreme, unjust, and inhumane in its consequences.

He argued that while women who find themselves in unplanned or ‘crisis’ pregnancies should be supported and treated with compassion, full decriminalisation of late-term abortion ignores the reality of the acts that have been prosecuted. In 2012, 35-year old Sarah Catt self-aborted her son at 39 weeks gestation by buying abortion pills online. She then buried his body and refused to reveal its whereabouts. The judge at Catt’s trial said she ‘had robbed the baby of the life it was about to have.’ Both he and the inspector dealing with her case noted that she had ‘shown no remorse’. 

Given the callous nature of her actions, why should she and women like her not be held accountable for their actions?

We are appalled that many Labour MPs who voted for Tonia Antoniazzi’s clause to allow women to procure drugs and self-abort their babies at any point in pregnancy up to birth without investigation or prosecution are today celebrating this as a ‘victory for women’.

The new law has removed all protections from unborn babies in the UK, putting us in the same bracket as countries including China and North Korea. This is not something to be proud of.

Recent surveys show that just 1% of the British public support decriminalising abortion, with 50% wanting a reduction in the ‘upper limit’ from 24 to 16 weeks, and 60% wanting a reduction to 20 weeks. 

The Labour Government is taking the UK in the wrong direction and revealing it to be more interested in death than life.

Peter D. Williams, FET Director said: 'The principled argument against decriminalising abortion is clear, and reflects the views of the British public. Those of us who are on the side of the solidarity and duties of the family, against the cult of autonomy that supports permissive and legal abortion, should be willing to make the case for a reform that steadily diminishes the inhumanity and cruelty of liberal proposals on abortion in the future, and have the fortitude to move towards a more authentically compassionate and just society.” 

END

 Notes to Editors:

  • The Family Education Trust is a national educational trust which researches the causes and consequences of family breakdown. It has no political or religious affiliations and is funded entirely by voluntary donations. FET conducts evidence-based academic research, always seeking to identify the underlying causes of social problems and giving particular time and attention to a wide range of areas that affect the stability of the family and the welfare of children and young people. It then uses the research for the purposes of informing, educating, influencing and supporting policymakers, educators, parents and the wider public. FET celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021. 

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