UK Debates Law Against Sex Selective Abortions

WUNRN

MPs voted to ban abortions on the grounds of gender in Commons today
They voted 181 to one to make abortions based on gender illegal
Ministers have insisted that the law already bans sex-selective abortions
Tory MP Fiona Bruce said law needs to be clarified to make it explicitly illegal

By Tom McTague, Deputy Political Editor for MailOnline

4 November 2014 - MPs have voted to ban abortions on the grounds of gender amid growing Parliamentary concern over sex-selective terminations.

They voted 181 to one to make abortions based on gender illegal, saying the current law had led to ‘widespread confusion’ about what was allowed and what was not.

But the ban is unlikely to come into effect, because the government is not behind the change.

MPs said the current law on abortion had led to 'widespread confusion' about what was allowed and what was not

The only MP who voted against the sex-selective abortions ban was Glenda Jackson, the former actress and Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn.

During today’s Commons debate, Conservative MP Fiona Bruce insisted the law needs to be clarified to make it explicit to doctors that they cannot terminate pregnancies because of the sex of the unborn child.

The MP for Congleton said ministers could not wait to take action until official figures highlighted a ‘national skewing’ in the number of girls born compared to boys.

She said urgent clarification of the law was needed, because the BMA and abortion provider BPAS argue that sex-selective abortion is not illegal under the 1967 Act.

‘We cannot sit idly by as they contradict ministers over a practice that the government states is illegal,’ she said. ‘Urgent clarification from this House is needed.’

MPs overwhelmingly backed her desire to bring forward the Abortion (Sex-Selection) Bill, which she introduced on behalf of a cross-party group that included 11 other female MPs.

Moving her Bill, Ms Bruce said: ‘Sex-selective abortions are happening in the UK and there is widespread confusion over the law. That is why this Bill is needed.

‘It's extremely straightforward. It merely clarifies that nothing in section one of the Abortion Act 1967 allows a pregnancy to be terminated on the grounds of the sex of the unborn child.

‘It is a shame this clarification is needed. Successive health ministers and even the Prime Minister have been very clear. They state that abortion for reasons of gender alone is illegal.’

She added: ‘The Prime Minister has described the practice as simply appalling. But they are being ignored.

‘The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), which performs around 60,000 abortions a year, flatly disagrees.

‘Even today they are still advising women in one of their leaflets and on their website that abortions for reasons of foetal sex is not illegal because the law is silent on the matter.

‘The British Medical Association (BMA) holds yet another interpretation. They argue there may be cases where having a child of a particular gender may be a legal and ethical justification for an abortion on the grounds that the sex of the child may severely affect the pregnant woman's mental health.’

Ms Bruce said the abuse threatened against women because of the gender of their unborn child should be addressed, with the Bill aiming to help them.

‘The main motivation is we know sex-selective abortions are happening in the UK and little is being done to stop this,’ she said. ‘We know because of the growing number of courageous women speaking out about their experiences.’

MPs overwhelmingly backed the motion. The Bill will now be taken forward for a second reading in January. It is, however, highly unlikely to become law in its current form without Government support and parliamentary time.

A poll by ComRes for the lobbying group Christian Concern found that 84 per cent of people believe gender abortion should be ‘explicitly banned by law’.

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