The current law that governs abortions is the Abortion Act of 1976. Over the years, numerous amendments have been suggested and generally vetoed. For instance, the latest date during the pregnancy that an abortion can be carried out legally is still 24 weeks’ gestation despite medical advances that mean that babies of that early gestation can survive.
The latest proposed amendment come in the form of the Health Bill, currently being debated by MPs. The basis of the proposal is that clinics that provide abortions should be banned from also offering counselling to women who are considering or seeking abortions.
The concern that led to the proposals being made was that clinics that offer abortions benefit financially if those abortions are carried out – if the woman chooses not to abort, then they don’t get as much money. MPs think that this presents a conflict of interest.
Those opposed to the changes say that if independent counsellors are required to give counselling, then pro-life groups could put pressure on women to not go through with abortions by giving pro-life counselling.
It’s expected that MPs will reject the proposal – amongst others, David Cameron has said that he will vote against the proposals, fearing that existing, well-known and respected counselling services will be forced to close.
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