\u201cOnce it was no longer legal to arrest the people [who were pregnant], they arrested the activists,\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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She said she was \u201cmystified\u201d by the fact that BPAS and MSI were not supporting Creasy\u2019s amendment, calling Antoniazzi\u2019s amendment \u201cdangerous\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u201cIt seems bizarre \u2013 they\u2019re willing to play politics on abortion-seekers and their close ones\u2019 lives,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
BPAS told HuffPost UK that Antoniazzi\u2019s amendment \u201cwould change nothing about abortion provision or the laws around medical professionals and activists.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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BPAS\u2019 head of advocacy Rachael Clarke said: \u201cAll it would do is stop the prosecution of vulnerable women who end their own pregnancies outside the current law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cEvery organisation that represents medical professionals working in abortion care support this amendment, including all abortion providers in England and Wales, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Midwives, the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, and the British Society of Abortion Care Providers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe uniting issue for all these groups is that women must urgently be removed from the criminal law on abortion \u2013 and that wider reform including that around the law related to medical professionals needs proper consideration and input from medical bodies and abortion care providers.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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MSI told HuffPost UK that Antoniazzi\u2019s amendment \u201cprotects the person ending their own pregnancy from prosecution. It does not change the law in relation to medics or activists, and nor do we have reason to believe it would make prosecutions of medics or activists more likely.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Louise McCudden, MSI Reproductive Choices\u2019 UK head of external affairs. added: \u201cWe would never support an amendment that criminalised medics or activists, or that made their prosecution more likely.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Confusion around campaigners<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
There\u2019s also a clash between activists over Creasy\u2019s amendment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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MSI told MPs it was written without abortion providers\u2019 input, and suggested it did not have enough support to pass.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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MSI has also warned campaigners it could set back the fight for full decriminalisation of abortion for a generation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The same organisation wrote to MPs last week calling for them to withdraw their support for Creasy\u2019s decriminalisation bill.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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MSI\u2019s Louise McCudden told HuffPost UK: \u201cWe strongly support full decriminalisation of abortion and we have long advocated for it with our partners, including the many pro-choice activists who have signed up to back NC1 as an important milestone. Abortion providers, pro-choice activists, and medics have already begun to reimagine abortion care for the 21st century.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis is a complex area and it\u2019s important we get it right. In the meantime, we advocate for a simple reform to the law which will end the prosecution of women who have been investigated under our Victorian abortion laws. The women have who have been investigated so far include domestic abuse survivors, potential trafficking survivors, and women who have had stillbirths – this is a fundamental injustice and addressing it cannot wait.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n