Crime and Policing Bill

Baroness Mattinson Excerpts

2nd reading
Thursday 16th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Mattinson (Lab)]

My Lords, I want to start, as lots of people have done today, by echoing the comments about this excellent Bill. I know very well the impact that its many measures will have in many communities around the country. I also want to echo the congratulations to my friend, the noble Baroness, Lady Levitt, on her hugely impressive debut in introducing a very complex Bill.

I will talk in favour of Clause 191 because I believe very strongly that women, often very vulnerable women, should not be criminalised for ending their own pregnancy outside the law, which often results in years of investigation and a custodial sentence. Earlier, the noble Baroness, Lady Sugg, talked very eloquently about what is and is not contained in Clause 191, so I am not going to go through that again, but there are a couple of points I want to make.

The other place voted to repeal this antiquated law, bringing us in line with many other democracies around the world. It also brings us in line with public opinion. Some 52% overall oppose criminalising women in these circumstances, while only 21% support it. That is men and women—fair-minded people, if you like. Unsurprisingly, women feel this most strongly: just 16% of women support criminalising women in this way. When we look at women under the age of 40—namely, the women who are most likely to be directly affected by the law—that drops down to just 13%. So the data is very clear.

For me, the most powerful and persuasive argument comes directly from some of the women who have been treated barbarically by this law. Take Sammy, who went into premature labour at home and, as she attempted to resuscitate her own baby, seven police officers were searching her bins for evidence, even before the paramedics had arrived. She was then interviewed under caution for suspected illegal abortion and had her phone and her computer seized. She was not allowed home for a week, as it was sealed off as a crime scene, and she was left just in the clothes that she had attended hospital in. She was also not allowed to contact her partner. Despite providing forensic samples that did not show the presence of abortion drugs, she remained under police investigation for a year and was allowed only limited supervised contact with her baby, who had survived the traumatic birth—probably because of her intervention. Sammy is now a very active campaigner against this law, a law that was passed before women even had the vote. We have a chance now to end the suffering it causes, and we must do so.