No 10 ‘culture clash’ over DIY abortion

THE temporary “DIY abortion” system could be made permanent, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose, amid a “culture clash” of beliefs in government.

No 10 aides are understood to be pushing to continue the “pills by post” system introduced during the pandemic, which allows women in the first nine weeks and six days of pregnancy to be sent two abortion tablets after a telephone consultation. However, Sajid

Javid, the Health Secretary, and Maggie Throup, a junior health minister, believe the plan to phase out the system should remain in place.

The scheme is likely to be extended for six months, in order to give in-person abortion services time to scale up to their pre-Covid levels.

But Boris Johnson now faces a major row over abortion, with his Health Secretary and backbenchers lining up to oppose a permanent relaxation of the rules – a position also backed by the Church of England. Miriam Cates, the

Conservative backbencher, has warned that the system could encourage “coercive control” of women.

But advocates of making the change permanent argue that the Covid-era scheme has “worked well” and that medics believe it is safe and effective.

A Government source said there was “a real culture clash” over the proposal to make the change permanent, adding that “most of the officials who work on this policy area are women, and take a more positive view” of the major abortion charities lobbying for the move.