British govt under fire over abortions

Anti-abortion groups today accused the Government of ‘‘cost-cutting’’ and being ‘‘obsessed’’ with abortion after it emerged that women are to be offered faster, easier terminations.

The Pro-Life Alliance said the latest move to offer faster, easier terminations through family planning centres was also ‘‘potentially dangerous’’.

The government plans to allow family planning centres to give so-called medical abortions, which were only previously available in hospital wards and special day units, a report in The Observer said today.

A British Department of Health spokesman said that the scheme would operate within the existing legal framework.

The DoH said it was intended to eliminate the wide variations in waiting times for abortions across the country which can range from as little as two weeks in some areas to around six to eight weeks elsewhere.

If a woman is to have a termination the risks of suffering physical or psychological damage are reduced the earlier it is carried out.

A medical abortion avoids the need for surgery altogether and involves the woman taking two doses of separate drugs which induce a miscarriage.

But Josephine Quintavalle of Pro-Life Alliance said: ‘‘You save a lot of money not using anaesthetics. It is quicker, easier and cheaper I would put cheaper in very big capitals.’’

She added: ‘‘This move is irresponsible and short term.’’

But a DoH spokesman said: ‘‘This is not about cost-cutting, using the medical abortion just means people do not have to have surgery. Currently 81% have surgery, if they do not need to it makes things quicker and less traumatic.’’

Ms Quintavalle claimed abortion would soon move from family planning clinics to GPs, gradually becoming easier and easier until it became ‘‘impossible to keep track’’ of the situation.

She said the ‘‘DIY’’ method, which induces an abortion, could be dangerous for teenage girls.

She added: ‘‘These are not drugs for children there is the potential for danger particularly in the developing body. The idea of younger girls using this is just unbelievable.’’

Both the Pro-Life Alliance and the charity Life believe the government is ‘‘obsessed’’ by abortion.

Nuala Scarisbrick, of Life, said: ‘‘Women’s bodies seem to be targeted at every stage by a government which seems to be obsessed with abortion more so than any other government in the past 30 years.’’

She said about the latest move: ‘‘This dupes women into thinking it’s as easy as going and having you hair colour changed.’’

The charity believes a longer waiting time would give women time to reflect on the options.

She said: ‘‘The majority of women do not choose to have an abortion. They are doing it for other people - to have one certainly suits partners who are not ready to support a child and parents who are in shock who do not necessarily want to support their daughter.’’

She added: ‘‘This DIY abortion is accompanied by extremely heavy bleeding, massive doses of hormones are needed in order to get rid of the baby. It raises questions about the long-term consequences on women’s health and fertility.’’

The DoH said that strict controls will still apply when the scheme is launched initially with a series of pilot projects.

Only family planning centres located in hospital trust premises will be able to offer the procedure.

Patients will also still be required to obtain certification from two doctors before they can go ahead.

‘‘It will still take place within the current legal framework. It is not a case that it will be on the high street,’’ a DoH spokesman said.

The announcement was welcomed by the Family Planning Association as a ‘‘sensible move’’ to make medical abortions more easily available.

‘‘The current inequality of access to medical abortion is ludicrous,’’ said FPA chief executive, Anne Weyman.

‘‘In some areas it is not offered at all in the first nine weeks of pregnancy, despite being an alternative to surgical abortion that many women prefer.

‘‘It is right that women have control over their fertility and the ability to make choices about their reproductive health. The Government is right to support them in this.’’

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Dr Evan Harris said the party supported medical rather than surgical terminations provided they were ‘‘safe and effective’’.

‘‘If abortion is legal, and appropriate for the individual, women should be entitled to safe, effective and convenient treatment,’’ he said.

But people should be aware there was still ‘‘significant intervention’’ with medical abortions and should not rely on abortion as a means of contraception.

The government still had a long way to go to improve sex education and access to contraception, he added.