01/11/2008
New Proposals for Abortion time limits
Parliamentary debate is once again focusing on the controversial issue of abortion with Tory MP Nadine Dorries launching a campaign to reduce the time limit in which a woman can legally have an abortion. Currently, a woman can legally have an abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Abortion is governed by the Abortion Act 1967 which originally made abortion legal for up to 28 weeks of pregnancy. The Human Embryology and Human Fertilisation Act 1990 has since amended this and the time limit was lowered to 24 weeks as it now stands.
New proposals will be published in a briefing paper named ‘20 reasons for 20 weeks.’ The briefing evidences high profile cases of babies surviving below the 24-week marker and expert studies have shown that by this stage a foetus is already well developed. High-resolution 3D ultrasound has also found that babies show real signs of life at this stage of their development including movement such as stretching, yawning and sucking their thumb. Abortion at 24 weeks is no longer acceptable on the finding of this evidence. There is concern over the increase of abortion in recent times with Britain now having 200,000 a year.
Calls to reduce the limit have been rejected with claims that there is not enough evidence to support it and therefore no reason to change the law. 89% of abortions are carried out before 13 weeks and the British Medical Association has stated that the number of babies surviving at the 24-week stage is extremely small. Women should also have the right to choose if they have an unwanted pregnancy.
Whilst some wish to put restrictions on abortion, others say that sex education and birth control services should be more readily available. The Bill is due to reach the House of Commons this month and until a decision has been made it will continue to remain in the spotlight. |
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