British lawmakers voted on Tuesday to prevent women from being prosecuted for having an abortion in England and Wales, a landmark decision that sets the country on a diverging path from the United States on an emotive social issue.

Amendment to the crime and policing bill means women who terminate their pregnancies after 24 weeks will no longer be prosecuted. View on euronews

An amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, tabled by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, aims to decriminalise abortion at any stage by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy, ending the threat of investigation or imprisonment. The framework by which abortion is accessed would remain the same.