Letter: Public wasn’t consulted on abortion ‘up to birth’ clause - the most significant change to legislation since the Abortion Act was introduced in 1967
A letter from Catherine Robinson:
The abortion up to birth clause is one of the most extreme pieces of legislation ever introduced in Parliament.
Pro-abortion MPs hijacked a government bill to rush through this radical and seismic change to our abortion laws after just 46 minutes of backbench debate.
This was the first time this extreme amendment had been debated in Parliament. There had been no prior public consultation, no impact assessment, and no evidence sessions on this far-reaching change to our laws.
Bringing the abortion up to birth clause into force before a proper impact assessment has been produced, and before police, prosecutors and healthcare professionals have been given clear guidance on these and other serious issues, would be deeply irresponsible.
This is the most significant change to abortion legislation since the Abortion Act was introduced in 1967.
There is no public appetite for this change, and it was not part of the government’s manifesto.
There are now almost 300,000 abortions every year in this country.
Britain’s abortion time limit is already double that of the most common abortion limit among EU countries. And yet Parliament has just voted for even fewer safeguards for women and fewer protections for the unborn, even late in pregnancy.
Catherine Robinson, Spokesperson for Right To Life UK