Abortion laws will be liberalised for the first time in 40 years this week if a group of MPs succeed in introducing a series of changes to make it easier for women to terminate pregnancies.

MPs are expected to vote on proposals to reduce the number of doctors required to sign abortion papers from two to one, to allow nurses and midwives to carry out terminations and to let women take abortion pills at home. MPs will also be asked to make it legal for abortions to take place in GP surgeries.

The pro-choice MPs say they are confident of passing amendments to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill which they believe will remove unnecessary hurdles to women seeking abortions.

MPs voted against lowering the upper abortion limit from 24 weeks during an earlier reading of the bill.

Dr Evan Harris, a Liberal Democrat MP and one of the MPs who has put down the amendments, said: “I am as confident that we would win any votes on these as I was that we would retain the 24-week upper time limit.” The amendments are supported by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Nursing, and were backed by the former science and technology select committee.

The moves will be opposed by pro-life MPs, however, who point out that abortion is already widely available in Britain, with more than 200,000 abortions carried out per year. At the moment, abortions must be performed in hospitals or in approved abortion clinics.

Abortion rights campaigners say the changes will make it easier for women to get abortions, particularly in the early weeks of pregnancy.

Ministers are understood to back moves to allow terminations in early pregnancy carried out by women taking abortion pills at GP surgeries.

In May the Department of Health published results of a pilot study showing that abortions in the early weeks of pregnancy, using pills rather than surgery, could safely be carried out at health centres.

In early medical abortions, women take two sets of pills up to three days apart. Currently women must take both sets of tablets in hospital or at an approved abortion clinic.

Pro-choice politicians say women should be allowed to take the abortion pills at home if they are less than nine weeks pregnant.

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