Today, MPs will be asked to vote on an amendment that would make legal the abortion of a baby right up to birth including healthy, fully formed, viable children.
That this is patently absurd is a view shared by the silent majority. In fact, when polled only 1% of women support abortion up to the point of birth. Opposing this amendment isn’t religious zealotry, it’s common sense and common humanity.
In Britain, we already have some of the world’s most liberal abortion laws. In fact, our cut-off date of 24 weeks is double the European average. Given that in some instances premature babies can be kept alive outside the womb at just 22 week’s gestation, many argue that the cut-off should be brought forward. This is where the debate has traditionally taken place, in a moderate and measured way, but this amendment would blow this out of the water.
If this amendment passes it will pour petrol on the culture wars debate, opening the door to the extreme division seen in the US.
In this country, our British sensibility has always served us well. We have always taken a more nuanced position, trying to strike a sober balance between both sides of the debate with the general approach that abortion should be safe and legal but rare.
What’s more, the elected Government has no mandate for this extreme change: it wasn’t mentioned in a manifesto nor is it supported by public opinion. Even the media coverage has been limited as the Assisted Dying Bill has stolen the social change spotlight. This abortion amendment has simply been tacked onto the Crime and Policing Bill, meaning this paradigm shifting change could well be decided with less than a day’s discussion and by just one formal division.
Having sat on the Committee for this Bill, colleagues from across the House spent hours scrutinising the Bill line by line, discussing a range of topics form shop lifting to war memorials to child exploitation- abortion isn't even mentioned.
This was never the intention of Labour’s Bill. Frankly, these amendments overshadow much of the work done in Committee and the consideration of important amendments that improve the Government’s Bill as first drafted.
The call for this dangerous change has largely been brought on by the pills-by-post practise which has led to an increase in police investigations into self-administered abortion. Meant as a temporary Covid measure, it exposes vulnerable women to coercion. That’s why I’ve put my name to Dr Caroline Johnson’s New Clause106 which would ensure consultation with a medical professional before being given self-administration abortion pills.
Surely this is a more reasonable way of cutting down on the number of intrusive investigations than decriminalising abortion entirely?
Not only will this amendment do lasting damage to society but the way it has been introduced would erode what little remains of the trust between people and elected politicians.
Jack Rankin MP
