700 Doctors Call on MPs to Reduce Abortion Limit to 24 Weeks
Campaigners argue that the UK’s 24-week limit for abortions is unusual due to the rising number of babies born at 22 or 23 weeks who can now survive.
Doctors are proposing to lower the abortion limit to 22 weeks from the current 24 weeks, pointing to technological advancements that allow babies to survive outside the womb.
A group of 700 doctors sent a letter to all MPs, emphasizing that medical progress has increased the chances of survival for babies born at 22 weeks and urging MPs to reduce the abortion limit in the UK.
In England, abortions are legal if performed by a registered medical practitioner within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, with procedures only taking place in hospitals or clinics after 10 weeks.
‘UK Is an Outlier’
In an article in The Sunday Telegraph, Ms. Ansell highlighted that notable personalities like Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Wayde van Niekerk were all born at least two months prematurely.
She stated that the “UK is an outlier with its 24-week limit.”
“The average abortion time limit among EU countries is 12 weeks, the end of the first trimester. Countries like Germany, Ireland, and Italy have a 12-week limit; France and Spain have a 14-week limit, while liberal Sweden’s limit of 18 weeks is less than halfway through the second trimester,” she noted.
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The doctors’ letter, published by the Right to Life charity, highlighted the necessity of the proposed amendment given the increasing number of babies born at 22 or 23 weeks who can now survive.
“From 2010 to 2019, the survival rate for babies born at 23 weeks doubled, leading to updated guidance from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) that allows doctors to intervene and save premature babies from 22 weeks gestation,” the letter stated.
‘Moderate Change’
It also mentioned that the abortion time limit was reduced from 28 to 24 weeks in 1990 to reflect improving survival rates for babies born before 28 weeks, due to medical and technological advancements.
The letter argued that a reduction in the upper time limit to 22 weeks is appropriate considering further medical progress that has significantly improved survival rates for babies born before the 24-week limit.
“A reduction to 22 weeks represents a moderate change that should receive widespread support, especially when compared to the EU average limit of 12 weeks gestation. As medical professionals, we call on MPs to support this crucial amendment,” it added.
Dr. Calum Miller, one of the signatories of the letter, emphasized in an email to The Epoch Times that the debate should not revolve around pro-life versus pro-choice.
“This is about questioning whether viable babies should be terminated unnecessarily when they have the ability to survive outside the mother’s womb. It is ethically and medically unjustifiable to end babies’ lives at this stage of pregnancy. There is no valid medical or moral rationale for it.”
Lois McLatchie Miller, a legal communications officer at Alliance Defending Freedom UK, mentioned on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that the “EU average limit is 12-15 weeks. We are extreme.”
Decriminalise
In January, anti-abortion activists expressed major concerns about a push to decriminalise late-term abortions performed at home with pills.
This concern arose after plans to amend the Criminal Justice Bill, which was later retracted, to eliminate criminal offenses prohibiting self-abortion at any point, with fears that it might resurface in the future.
The amendment, introduced by a coalition of MPs including Labour’s Stella Creasy and Dame Diana Johnson, aimed to repeal sections 58, 59, and 60 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
Section 60 criminalizes concealing the birth of a child, while sections 58 and 59 make it illegal to administer or supply drugs or use instruments to procure an abortion.
The discussion gained attention following the media coverage of Carla Foster, a 45-year-old mother of three, who obtained abortion pills through the mail during a COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, after providing false information to the abortion provider about the duration of her pregnancy.
A spokesperson for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service explained by email at the time that the proposed amendment aimed to remove the threat of imprisonment for women who terminate their own pregnancies.
“Dame Diana Johnson’s amendment does not seek to alter the provision, grounds, or time limit for abortion. It simply eliminates the risk of imprisonment for women who end their pregnancies,” she clarified.
