03.01.11
Response to abortion legislation change
Reaction to the upcoming law change concerning the provision of independent advice to women seeking abortion has been heated.
The Department of Health rule change means that charities that provide abortions will no longer have exclusive responsibility for providing counselling, and some are concerned the new service providers will be biased against abortion.
Baroness Deech, the former head of the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority, has suggested that the move will limit the availability of abortion, and is putting unnecessary restrictions on a ‘legal and well run’ service. She told The Independent newspaper that there was a lack of evidence for any bias in the current system.
Clare Gerada, head of the Royal College of General Practitioners, told the Guardian: “There is no agenda in abortion services, there is no pressure at all to encourage women to have an abortion. Why fix what's not broken? It's worked well for 25 years.”
Frank Field, the Labour MP who tabled the amendments with Conservative MP Nadine Dorries, maintained that advice and services should remain separate as a general principle, and said the lack of evidence does not imply that there is no room to improve.
The amendment will be debated as part of the Health & Social Care Bill in the House of Commons next week.
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