Doctors revolt over bid to allow abortions right up until birth

MORE than 1,000 doctors are in open revolt over a vote to scrap the abortion limit.

Tomorrow up to 500 doctors at the British Medical Association’s annual conference will debate whether the country should decriminalise abortion.

If they vote in favour, the BMA will adopt this stance as its formal policy and lobby the Government for a change in the law which bans abortions after 24 weeks.

But up to 1,200 doctors have signed a petition calling on the union to scrap the ballot, fearing the profession will be ‘severely damaged’.

They have written a joint letter to the BMA’s council – its most senior officials – warning that the vote will be swayed by pro-abortion campaigners.

The BMA is one of the UK’s most powerful medical institutions and its decision to hold the abortion vote at its Bourne- mouth conference reflects a recent shift in opinion.

Last year the Royal College of Midwives launched a controversial campaign calling for abortion to be decriminalised, claiming it would give women more choice and control.

Then in March the issue was debated in Parliament as part of a private member’s bill submitted by a Labour MP.

The majority of MPs voted to push the bill through to the next stage but it stalled when Parliament was dissolved for the snap election.

The current law states that a woman can abort her baby up to 24 weeks as long as two doctors agree that continuing the pregnancy is harmful for her or the unborn child.

It is only permitted beyond this limit in certain exceptional circumstances, for example if doctors believe the baby has a severe disability. If abortion were to be decriminalised, women could have terminations up until the birth for any reason including their own convenience.

The letter to the BMA’s council reads: ‘This motion is being promoted by a small group of campaigners with extreme views on abortion.

‘Whilst they are entitled to hold the convictions they do, we must not let them impose their agenda on the BMA and risk severely damaging our reputation.’

Professor John Campbell, an expert in general practice and primary care at the University of Edinburgh who has signed the letter, said he felt it was very difficult to speak up.

He added: ‘These are massive issues which need to be thoughtfully addressed. It would be outrageous if this was passed and would lead to many doctors reviewing their position in respect to membership of the BMA. I would do that and I have been a member for 35 years.’

Baroness Hollins, a professor of psychiatry and former BMA president, said: ‘Aborting a baby after 24 weeks, the age of medically agreed viability, is an extreme move towards involuntary euthanasia.’

The BMA’s vote has been put forward by its City and Hackney division in East London, led by GP and Labour activist Dr Coral Jones.

A BMA spokesman said it was a ‘sensitive and complex issue on which doctors will have a range of views’.

‘Exceptional circumstances’