Lift jail threat for abortions say family doctors
ABORTION should be fully decriminalised in the UK, the body representing family doctors said yesterday.
The Royal College of GPs joined a string of bodies which have called for the procedure to be governed by medical regulators rather than the criminal justice system.
Under current law, abortion is illegal unless it is approved by two doctors and carried out on approved premises. Breaking the law can, in theory, result in life imprisonment for a woman and leave doctors open to criminal sanctions.
The royal college, whose members are often the first to deal with requests for terminations, insisted that decriminalising abortion would not lead to ‘abortions on demand’.
Its chairman Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard said: ‘This is an incredibly sensitive topic, but it’s essential that we engage in debate and hear what our members have to say on all issues facing modern healthcare.
‘Ultimately, this is about providing non-judgmental care to our patients so women who face the difficult decision to proceed with an abortion are not disadvantaged by the legal system.’
Abortion has been illegal in Britain since 1861, although the 1967 Abortion Act created an exception if a woman could secure the agreement of two doctors that a termination is necessary to prevent ‘grave, permanent’ injury to the physical or mental health of the woman or child.
Abortions can take place only before 24 weeks, unless there is a substantial risk to life or severe abnormalities. Removing this law would make it easier to get an abortion – although doctors insist strict rules, including the 24-week threshold, would remain in place.
Several other organisations, including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives already support decriminalisation.
The Royal College of GPs consulted 4,400 of its members, of whom 62 per cent supported decriminalisation, 19 per cent opposed it and 15 per cent were neutral. The rest abstained.
Pro-life groups have repeatedly warned that decriminalisation would be the first step on a slippery slope to the ‘ horrifically inhumane’ prospect of ‘abortions on demand’ at any point in pregnancy.
‘An incredibly sensitive topic’