Mother challenges ‘secret’ British abortion guidelines
Sue Axon, 51, a divorced parent from Manchester, urged a judge to declare parents had “a right to know”, except in exceptional cases, so they could help their children make “wise decisions”.
She said the British Government “should be encouraging family cohesion, not undermining it”, adding: “I find the prospect that my daughters could be receiving contraception and an abortion without my knowledge horrifying”.
Lawyers for Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt are defending the July 2004 guidelines, saying the right of confidentiality for under- 16s is crucial to the fight to reduce teen pregnancies.
In a case being watched by the medical profession and parents, Mrs Axon described her personal agony when she had an abortion 20 years ago.
In a written statement, Mrs Axon, who has five children in all, said: “I suffered severe guilt, shame and depression for many years after that, not because of anything that was said to me, but because I believed I had killed my child.
“To this day I regret having had the abortion.”
Mrs Axon stated that she believed abortions should only be allowed in the most exceptional circumstance.
If her daughters, aged 16 and 13, were to fall pregnant, she would not stop them, but seek to dissuade them, while supporting and helping them if they did.
“I recognise the teenage years, especially the early teens, are significant and tumultuous for youngsters,” she said. “I cannot understand how a doctor could consider such a significant operation to be in their best interests without even consulting me.
“Nor can I understand how effective aftercare could be provided in such a culture of secrecy”.
Philip Sales, appearing for Ms Hewitt, is asking the judge to dismiss Mrs Axon’s application for judicial review on the basis that her arguments for “the parental right to know” have “no foundation in law”.
