Every woman who has faced criminal investigation for ending a pregnancy in England and Wales over the last 150 years has been pardoned. Campaigners and women previously convicted of illegal abortions have described this as a “historic day”.
Legislation to pardon women accused of terminating their own pregnancies outside the legal framework and expunge their criminal records was introduced by a House of Lords vote earlier this year. This change, under section 242 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, takes effect on Monday, 17 November 2026.
The House of Commons had previously voted to amend abortion laws to prevent future criminalisation of women for ending their own pregnancies, while maintaining the existing legal framework for terminations. The pardons are understood to apply to approximately 150 women identified from police records.
Details of convictions, cautions, arrests, and police investigations related to terminations will be deleted from these women's records. This will allow them to work and travel without restrictions. Some women, including Nicola Packer, have expressed gratitude for the pardon but also desire a formal apology from the government, stating that “none of us should have been on trial, investigated or sent to prison.”