Isle of Man to become first jurisdiction in these islands to decriminalise abortion

The House of Keys, the island’s lower house of parliament, unanimously backed the Abortion Reform Bill 2018 yesterday with three minor amendments.

The amendments will now go to the parliament’s revising chamber, the Legislative Council, next month before going to the Court of Tynwald for signing.

The Isle of Man’s existing abortion legislation, the Termination of Pregnancy Act 1995, provides for abortions in limited circumstances such as where the mother’s life is at risk.

A spokesperson for the local Campaign for Abortion Law Modernisation (CALM) welcomed the progress in legislation.

The group said: “CALM is proud that the Isle of Man is leading the way, and will be the first jurisdiction in the British Isles to decriminalise abortion, meaning that those who choose to terminate a pregnancy for whatever reason will no longer be seen as criminals.”

The bill will remove abortion as a criminal offence and provide for abortions on request up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, abortions in case of fatal foetal abnormality up to 24 weeks, and abortions beyond that point where the mother or baby’s life is at risk.

It also provides for counselling for women who have had an abortion, and for “buffer zones” around abortion clinics to prevent protests.