Decriminalise Abortion
103,653 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 4 November 2024; it closed on 4 May 2025. The Government responded on 23 December 2024. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 2 June 2025.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Decriminalise Abortion
I am calling on the UK government to remove abortion from criminal law so that no pregnant person can be criminalised for procuring their own abortion.
The U.K is out of step with World Health Organization who in 2022 recommended that barriers to abortion such as criminalisation, or approval of others or institutions should be removed. Amnesty International state that abortion is a human rights issue.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 23 December 2024; the petitions site lists the Ministry of Justice as responsible. Its summary:
All women have a right to access to safe, legal abortions on the NHS.
The response in full:
All women have access to safe, legal abortions on the NHS both in a medical setting and at home, where eligible. In England and Wales, the Abortion Act 1967 defines the criteria under which legal terminations can take place. The criminal law in relation to procuring an abortion is contained in the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, in particular sections 58 and 59. At this moment the Government has no plans to make changes to these Acts.
Ministry of Justice
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies. Measured against each constituency's electorate at the 2024 general election, the most came from Glasgow North, with 6.5 signatures per 1,000 electors (440 in all).
103,150 of the signatures were from the UK and 503 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures | Electorate, July 2024 | Per 1,000 electors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glasgow North | 440 | 67,579 | 6.5 |
| Brighton Pavilion | 438 | 74,786 | 5.9 |
| Sheffield Central | 310 | 60,594 | 5.1 |
| Liverpool Riverside | 354 | 71,380 | 5.0 |
| Edinburgh North and Leith | 386 | 78,411 | 4.9 |
| Leeds Central and Headingley | 338 | 70,554 | 4.8 |
| Edinburgh East and Musselburgh | 358 | 76,188 | 4.7 |
| Dundee Central | 331 | 74,221 | 4.5 |
| Norwich South | 333 | 76,296 | 4.4 |
| Glasgow South | 302 | 70,219 | 4.3 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 15,077 |
| Scotland | 12,196 |
| North West | 11,000 |
| London | 10,615 |
| South West | 10,048 |
| East of England | 9,424 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 8,113 |
| West Midlands | 7,402 |
| East Midlands | 7,127 |
| Wales | 5,646 |
| North East | 3,849 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,528 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 2 June 2025. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700014.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
b9f89cbac0074aa4… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.