Offences Against the Person Act: Section 58

Debate between Baroness Northover and Lord Stewart of Dirleton

Thursday 15th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

First, I am grateful to my noble friend for her courtesy in giving me advance notice of the point she wished to raise. It is completely unacceptable that anyone should feel harassed or intimidated. The police and local authorities have powers to restrict harmful protests and we expect them to take action in such cases. I cannot answer her with a specific date, but I can tell her that we are working through the complexities of implementing border zones, and that my right honourable friend the Home Secretary, speaking yesterday to the Home Affairs Select Committee, undertook to write to them to bring them fully up to date on the point raised.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, yesterday the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, questioned the justice in retaining a statute of 1861—before women had the vote—whereby a mother could be sent to prison for an abortion, describing this as

“an outdated and barbaric method of punishment”,

and there was widespread agreement in this House. Can the Minister go back and consider both his reply and that of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy, who said yesterday:

“This is a contentious issue and the Government maintain a neutral position”.—[Official Report, 14/6/23; col. 1992.]


Does this not lack courage and is this approach itself not seriously outdated, failing to protect women and girls? In our development programme, we have led the way; why are we being so timid in the United Kingdom?

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

My Lords, the criminal offences in the main exist to address the harm caused by those who force or coerce someone into terminating their pregnancy. Cases of this nature brought to the court are extremely rare, and that is reflected in the absence of specific sentencing guidelines relating to this. The rarity of prosecutions reflects the CPS’s approach, independent of government, to bringing cases where they determine that there will, or will not, be a public interest.