MPs reject cut in abortion limit :alexz:



The upper time limit for abortions will remain at 24 weeks after MPs voted against proposals to reduce it.

They rejected options ranging from 12 to 22 weeks in a series of votes.

Tory MP Nadine Dorries, a former nurse who proposed a 20-week limit, said a baby's rights should be considered at the point it had the "chance of life".

But pro-choice campaigners said there was no evidence of improved survival rates. The closest vote, on a 22-week limit, was defeated by 304 to 233.

Ms Dorries' proposal for a 20 week limit was defeated by 332 votes to 190.

Free vote

In the first major challenge to Britain's abortion laws since 1990, when the legal limit was lowered from 28 to 24 weeks, MPs voted on a series of alternative limits of 12,16, 20 and 22 weeks - all of which were rejected.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and most of the cabinet voted to keep the existing 24 limit, as did Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg.

But Catholic cabinet ministers Ruth Kelly, Des Browne and Paul Murphy voted for the lowest option - 12 weeks.

In modern Britain the most dangerous place to be is in your mother's womb. It should be a place of sanctity
Edward Leigh
Conservative MP (UGH WHATEVER)

Conservative leader David Cameron voted for a 20 week limit and then for a cut to a 22 week limit - which was backed by most of the shadow cabinet.

Mr Brown had offered Labour MPs a free vote on the issue as a matter of conscience.

But Ms Dorries, who led the campaign to reduce the limit, earlier told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Last night the Labour MPs were on a three-line whip to attend the chamber.

"When they arrived in the chamber, because normally only a third of them even vote on this issue, they were dragooned off into the 24-week lobby."

She said the government was "out of touch" with the public on the issue and Labour MPs had been "piling in" to "shore up" Mr Brown.

But Labour MP Kevin Barron, chairman of the Commons health committee, said there was no evidence of improvement in the survival rates of very premature babies.

He told the BBC: "If medical science was telling us that we ought to reduce the limit of weeks that we have, then maybe that's something that we should do, but it should be driven by science and not driven by some of the debate that we heard last night."

ENGLAND AND WALES ABORTIONS
Under 9 weeks: 54.9%
9-12 weeks: 34.3%
13-19 weeks: 9.2%
20-24 weeks: 1.5%
ONS figures from 2006


Abortion: Medical evidence
Abortions 1971-2006

The votes followed two impassioned debates on the controversial Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill - the biggest shake-up of fertility law for nearly 20 years.

Earlier the government saw off another challenge to the bill when MPs rejected a cross-party move for doctors to consider the need for a "father and a mother" before allowing IVF treatment.

Health Minister Dawn Primarolo insisted there was no evidence requiring the abortion laws to be changed and said changing it would force the small number of women seeking late abortions to go elsewhere.

"Wouldn't it be appalling if we drove women back to where they were before the 1967 (Abortion) Act?" she said.

She said the limit had always been linked to the "potential viability of the foetus outside of the womb".

"That was the case in 1967. It was the case in 1990 and certainly the case now."

During the debate Ms Dorries said she believed the right of a woman to choose had its limits.

"I believe a baby has rights. Those rights kick in if that baby were born it would have a chance of life and if it feels pain as part of the abortion," she said.

But Julie Bentley, chief executive of the Family Planning Association, welcomed the votes.

"FPA are delight that Parliament has resisted cynical attempts by anti-abortion campaigners to reduce access to safe, legal abortion," she said.

"Cutting the time limit, even by a few weeks, would have directly contradicted medical and scientific evidence about foetal viability and would only have exacerbated the desperation of the small percentage of women needing later abortion," she said.

But the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group said Parliament had defied overwhelming public opinion and pledged to fight for later abortions to be banned.

Coordinator Ian Lucas said: "We are disappointed MPs have not seen fit to recognise the wishes of three quarters of the population by lowering the time limit.

"We will continue to fight to reflect the wishes of the public and support the rights of the unborn child."

A bid to cut the limit to 12 weeks was opposed by 393 votes to 71. A further attempt to get the limit down to 16 weeks was defeated by 387 votes to 84.





www.bbc.co.uk

Good news.

It is thoroughly inappropriate for politicians to decide on this. It should only be the doctors and/or the courts.

Facists like Ruth Kelly have no place involving their evil religi9ons in women's lives.

Exactly

In modern Britain the most dangerous place to be is in your mother's womb. It should be a place of sanctity
Edward Leigh

This quote says it all :manson:

I'm still appalled that in Ireland a woman cannot terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.

People who are anti-abortion are almost entirely anti-gay as well. It goes hand in hand. If you hate gays then you almost certainly hate women as well.

I wonder what they'd say if a woman wanted to terminate her gay faetus.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT. :lmao:

Brad's mother is still debating that.....

Well c*nts like Ruth Kelly think being gay is a choice that's conciously made so they don't believe that a gay foetus is possible.

I think they shoud offer 100 abortiions in a big prize draw so that all pregbnant women can celebrate the good news.

:shy:

:lmao:

Sometimes I wish I could get pregnant just so I could feel what an abortion feels like. Must be the ultimate thrill.

OMG. :lmao:

A hot bath, a bottle of gin and a knitting needle, and you're all set!

Ooooo, get me coming over all Vera Drake!

Vera = legend

What about women who hate gays and have abortions as well? I'm thinking the average female chav inhabitant of place like Hull.

Ruth Kelly thinks gays have sex with their pet goldfish.

I'm talking about HUMAN females.

Not dumb farm animals.

Animal-phobe!

CHAVOPHOBE!

Ni I'm not.

I'm a FOETUSPHOBE. I hate them and I think they should all be scraped out.

They RUIN a woman's figure.

"I'm gonna get an abortion and I can't WAIT! "

If you scraped out all foetuses you'd have no one to perv over when they grow up.

But I like guys my own age. I'm perfectly comfortabel with free sterilisation for anyone who wants it.

At the bottom of this page there is an advertisement for "Abortion Ringtones."

Can you imagine if that ringtone went off in class? :lmao: