Support for 'easier abortion'

Over half of those surveyed said one doctor's permission should be sufficient

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Tuesday, 23, Oct 2007 11:59

The majority of Britons think it should be made easier for women to have an abortion, according to a new survey.

At present it is necessary for a woman seeking a termination to get the signatures of two doctors before it can go ahead.

Of the 1,000 adults questioned, 35 per cent said women should only need the permission of one doctor.

A further 17 per cent said permission from doctors should not be necessary at all to have an abortion.

But 43 per cent said they thought the current law should remain in place.

The survey, conducted on behalf of Abortion Rights, comes 40 years since abortion was legalised in Britain.

"The 1967 act ended decades of dangerous back-street abortions and saved the lives and health of thousands of women in Britain. Forty years of safe, legal abortion in Britain is something to celebrate," said Abortion Rights director Anne Quesney.

"But, the majority of the public clearly feels that the legislation is now out of date. It is time for a law that trusts women to make the abortion decision and remove the need for two doctors' permission to access the procedure - a process that can lead to delays for women at a difficult time."

However in an open letter today the heads of the Catholic church in England, Wales and Scotland warned against further liberalisation of abortion laws.

"The 1967 act was intended to solve the problem of illegal abortion, on the basis that it was a major cause of death in pregnant women. Yet our countries now perform nearly 200,000 abortions every year," said Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor and Cardinal Keith O'Brien.

"We have one of the most liberal abortion laws in Europe with abortion up to 24 weeks and abortion in the case of disability (and on some other grounds) up to birth. Whatever our religious creed or political conviction, abortion on this scale can only be a source of distress and profound anguish for us all."