Dear John, 

We know we've asked a lot of you over the last few months. But today we got bad news. 

170 days after the Criminal Justice Bill was introduced, we have just found out the vote on abortion has been delayed. Again. With no date given for a future vote. MPs will once again have to wait an indeterminate amount of time to vote to end the threat of police investigations, prosecutions and prison time for women who have an abortion. 

So we've started a petition with our friends at 38 Degrees to Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt as Leader of The House of Commons. It's her job to deliver the government's legislative programme. And it's her job to set a date for a vote so that MPs can do the right thing and vote for NC1 to decriminalise women for having an abortion.

Because it's not the politicians that suffer from these endless delays, it's our women. The petition comes in a week where yet another woman is standing trial for an alleged illegal abortion and could face a sentence of up to life in prison – the harshest in the world.

The last 2 years have seen record numbers of police investigations and prosecutions for suspected illegal abortion. Women are facing years-long police investigations, their properties searched, blood samples taken without consent, and getting arrested straight from the hospital ward. All for having an abortion.

The Leader of the House, the Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, could end that right now and set a date for this crucial vote. But instead this morning she delayed it yet again leaving abortion providers worried about when MPs will be allowed to vote to decriminalise abortion for women. 

There’s already mounting pressure from doctors, academics and MPs concerned about women’s rights, but Penny Mordaunt hasn’t felt public pressure yet. But if thousands of us hold her personally accountable for upholding a law from the 1800s that hurts women, she could be forced to announce a date for the vote.

So, John , will you help us fight for women’s rights and sign the petition to Penny Mordaunt MP? It takes 30 seconds, and every signature gets us closer to a vote.

As ever, thank you for your support. 

The BPAS Team