A HISTORIC move to decriminalise abortion may be overturned in the House of Lords as peers attempt to remove the relevant clause from the landmark Bill.

Legislation approved by MPs in the Commons last June has come under new scrutiny from Conservative Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest who tabled a motion to remove the relevant clause.

In a statement published by the anti-abortion Right to Life Group, she said decriminalisation was “an extreme social change for which there is no public pressure or demand and could have tragic consequences for women.”

Labelling it a “radical clause,” she claimed it had been “added to the Bill after less than an hour of debate by MPs.”

But Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who put forward the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, hit back at the Baroness.

She told the Star: “The House of Commons was abundantly clear last year that the criminalisation of women under abortion law has no place in modern society.

“To set the record straight, [the clause] came off the back of nine prior debates and two prior votes on decriminalisation in the House of Commons, all of which had substantial cross-party support.

“This is not a radical change — it would bring us into line with nearly 50 countries around the world who do not criminalise women for ending their own pregnancy.

“Claims that this will somehow result in a dissolving of safeguards are frankly erroneous — the law governing when or how abortion is accessed, including time limit, is not changing.”

She said: “What is extreme is that we have the most severe punishment for illegal abortion in the world, and more than 100 women have faced inhumane police investigations at the worst points in their lives.

“This is about protecting these women and it is the only way to do so. Peers must find the confidence to cut through the misinformation noise and stand up for what is right for women as the Commons did.”

Abortion remains a criminal offence in England and Wales but is considered to be legal if it is performed by an authorised provider up to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Peers may now also vote on a proposal to make it mandatory for pregnant women to have in-person consultation before lawfully being prescribed abortion medicine.

Current laws allow for women to take prescribed medicine at home if they are less than 10 weeks pregnant.