On Monday Dame Maria took part in a Westminster Hall debate concerning whether Parliament should include ‘’enshrine abortion rights in the new UK Bill of Rights’’. This debate was called after a petition was signed by over 10,000 people, 392 of whom live in Basingstoke.
Maria said
‘’Abortion is a fundamentally important matter, and I was glad to be able to contribute to this debate. Questions about abortion will always be a matter of conscience however I strongly believe that all such discussions must be conducted in a respectful and fact-based way.
In England, Scotland and Wales abortion is still criminalised and a woman who ends her own pregnancy without the consent of two doctors and can be sentenced to life in prison under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
This law is over 163 years old and does not reflect modern society. Recent studies showed that only 14% of people are aware of the current law and 65% of people believe it is wrong that abortion is criminalised.
In the debate, I argued that the government should bring the laws of all UK nations into alignment with those now in Northern Ireland, thereby decriminalising abortion which should be treated as a healthcare intervention not a crime.
I do however remain unconvinced that including a right to abortion in a Bill of Rights would provide any additional protections to women. Rather than viewing abortion as a legal matter, we should see it for what it is, a healthcare issue that should be decriminalised and regulated by medical professionals like any other healthcare procedure.’’