Abortion limit under fire
Monday, 15 Oct 2007 16:09
The limit for abortions is being debated
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Scientists are debating today whether the upper limit for abortions should be reduced and if it is necessary for two doctors to approve a termination.
The science and technology committee is reviewing the 1967 Abortion Act in light of scientific developments since 1990.
Scientific and medical evidence is being given by interested parties including some of the UK's leading medics.
At the heart of the debate is whether the upper limit for abortion should be reduced from 24 weeks to 22 following evidence that foetuses can survive at 23 weeks.
Professor Stuart Campbell, former professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at King's College London, said he has carried out 4D scanning (3D moving images) of foetuses which show facial expressions in foetuses towards 24 weeks.
These include "facial expressions which often occur in response to external stimuli, smiling and a sort of crying expression", he told the Today programme.
"Even towards 24 weeks, their eyelids will begin to open and they make breathing movements," he said.
"So I really feel pretty appalled at the idea that we would abort normal babies; most are born alive and most are just allowed to die."
Also being debated is whether it is necessary for two doctors to give their signature before a woman can have an abortion during early pregnancy.
Dr Tony Calland, chair of the BMA's medical ethics committee, said there should be a "freeing-up" of certain rules.
"As long as [pregnant women] have had all the risks and benefits explained to them and discussed with them, so that they have an appropriate amount of information to make a legitimate decision, we feel that it is up to them to decide what is best for them," he told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend.
The committee inquiry into abortion law has come under fire from some sectors as it is not taking into account moral and ethical considerations.
Dr Justin Thacker, head of theology for the Evangelical Alliance and a medical doctor, said: "This statement sets the dangerous precedent that it is acceptable to undertake scientific enquiry in the absence of ethical considerations. The history of the 20th century has demonstrated the disastrous consequences of following that path.
"The blinkered approach of this committee, divorced as it is from the concerns of real people, is treading a very dangerous path."