Mar 8, 2007

Today Abortion Rights are calling for liberalisation of the abortion law based on findings from a poll asking whether the public support a woman’s “right to choose” an abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

‘The fact that members of the public expressed support for a woman’s “right to choose” an abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy does not translate into support for liberalisation of the current law,’ said Julia Millington of the ProLife Alliance. ‘The question erroneously implies that an abortion is not currently available to any woman who wants one. It also fails to take into account the fact that 74% of the public believe that abortion is already “effectively available on demand subject to certain time limits.” [1]

‘UK law, allowing abortion up to 24 weeks gestation if the baby is healthy and up to birth for a disabled baby, is much more liberal than many of our European counterparts.

‘According to Dept of Health statistics for 2005, the number of abortions in England and Wales exceeded 194,000, with 67% of abortions performed under 10 weeks gestation and 89% (i.e. 172,949) performed under 13 weeks. [2] With the addition of the figures for Scotland we have a UK total in excess of 206,000 for one year alone. It is impossible to comprehend how much more easily accessible and readily available abortion needs to be in order to satisfy the demands of the pro-abortion minority.

‘Calls to liberalise the abortion law take no account of the fact that 81% of the public believe that ways should be found of reducing the 200,000 abortions performed each year. [3] We urge the Government to respond to growing public and Parliamentary concern by reviewing a barbaric law which will result in the brutal destruction of over 600 human lives today in the UK.’

END

[1] Choose Life poll conducted by Communicate Research, May 2006
[2] Statistical Bulletin, Abortion Statistics, England and Wales 2005
[3] Abortion Poll, conducted by CommunicateResearch, Oct 2005

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