The most important abortion provider in Great Britain informs women that it is not illegal to terminate a pregnancy based on the gender of the baby

Legality of gender based abortions

Alarm in the government amidst the false information offered by the top UK abortion chief to women about the legality of gender based abortions. As published in an informative pamphlet about abortion law in Great Britain, the question is asked: Is gender-based abortion legal under the abortion act? The answer given is: “No, the law says nothing on this matter.”

Last year Ann Furedi, Chief Executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service was heavily criticised for comparing the right to an abortion as a result of a rape or having unprotected sex with a woman’s abortion that didn’t want to have a daughter but rather a son.

Amidst the outrage that has been generated, the service insisted that the department of health was on top of the leaflet and didn’t consider there to be “any problems”. However, the same department of health published some guidelines in May that were very clear, confirming “abortions that ware only gender based are illegal.”  

However, the information is contradictory, in September the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that the current law does not prohibit gender based abortions. The health secretary Jeremy Hunt acted quickly to closet he “loophole” and hoped that with this the subject would finally be closed, but only a few days later the British Medical Association criticised the government advice.

Amidst the confusion generated, Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, President of the health committee clearly stated “ I hope that the publicity of these cases increases the vigilance of the horrendous practise of gender based abortion. I expect a reaction from both the law and the General Medical Council if cases like this appear in the future.”

From the Department of Health they claim to have it very clear “ Gender based abortion is illegal and we have repeated this in the guidelines published in May. All private providers are obliged to comply with these guidelines in order to be a licenced abortion provider”.