Dear
SPUC supporter,
Thank you to everyone who has been writing to Members of the House of Lords to try and stop the awful abortion up to birth amendment. As I shared the other week, the Second Reading debate showed that many peers are unhappy about the proposal, and are declaring their intention to oppose it.
A number of amendments have already been tabled, including one to oppose the decriminalisation clause outright. The Bill is currently awaiting its committee stage, where these amendments will be debated. The Government anticipates that there will be 12 days of Committee stage, with the abortion clause listed for the last day of debate. That date is currently expected to be Thursday 22 January 2026.
This gives us nearly three months to continue lobbying Lords. The good thing about lobbying Lords is that you can write to as many as you like! Why not commit to writing to one peer a week for the next few months?
The information about writing to members of the House of Lords on this issue can be found on our campaign page.
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I also want to draw your attention to other resources that could help you when writing to peers. The prospect of changing the law so that a woman will not be prosecuted for ending her own pregnancy at any gestation is particularly horrific because it is now so easy to obtain abortion pills. Since the pills by post policy was introduced, women can be approved for abortion over the phone, and then sent the pills in the post. We have seen many examples of women obtaining the pills to take much later in pregnancy, both accidentally and deliberately, and abusive men getting other women to attain the pills for them to use on a pregnant woman without consent. It will be all to easy to get hold of pills to carry out abortions at home after 24 weeks.
To find out more about this policy, and the risks it poses to women, you can check out our “End DIY abortion” campaign page, and read our briefing materials.
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Alithea Williams
Public Policy Manager
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