62% of the 4,429 GPs who responded (out of the 53,724 membership) supported decriminalization.
By SPUC—the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children

Another medical body has signed up to the extreme decriminalization agenda, with the Royal College of GPs announcing on Friday that it supports abortion being regulated by medical regulatory frameworks, not the criminal law.
Representative?
The RCGPs’ UK Council passed a motion to this affect after 62% of respondents to a poll said they support decriminalization. The survey was sent to 53,724 members who had not ‘opted out’ of all email communications. A total of 4,429 members responded from across the UK.
The RCGP says it will now join bodies including the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nurses in calling for the decriminalization of abortion in the UK.
Why abortion must remain regulated by the criminal law
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “Ultimately, this is about providing non-judgmental care to our patients so that women who face the difficult decision to proceed with an abortion are not disadvantaged by the legal system.”
Having abortion regulated by medical frameworks can sound logical, but as SPUC’s We Care About Women briefing lays out, there are strong reasons why abortion should remain in the criminal law.
Firstly, as abortion providers themselves admit, the vast majority of abortions are not carried out on “medical” grounds, but because the pregnancy is unwanted. This alone would suggest that a non-medical procedure, involving the taking of a human life, should be governed by the criminal law. The current situation also means that the controversial issue of abortion is regulated by democratically elected politicians, not by an unaccountable medical profession (which is currently allied with abortion providers).
Abortion industry not fit to regulate itself
Given the many concerns which have been raised about abortion providers, especially the shocking CQC reports into Marie Stopes (including one from Kent where staff bonuses were linked to the number of abortions performed), they clearly cannot be allowed to regulate themselves. Criminal sanctions are necessary to keep the mainstream abortion industry in check, and to deter dangerous DIY abortion activities such as online sales of abortion pills.
The RCGP said that it did not poll members on abortion time limits, but Ann Furedi, head of abortion provider BPAS and promoter of the We Trust Women Campaign for decriminalization, has made it very clear that she supports abortion up to birth.