The British Medical Association will have their annual meeting this month, and is set to include a special debate session on adopting the legalization of abortion up until birth as official policy. Approximately 500 doctors will be in attendance, and will vote on the potential policy change. But over twice as many British doctors have come out against the measure, signing a petition which will be delivered to the British Medical Association council, or its top members.
As many as 1,200 doctors signed a petition calling for the measure to be completely scrapped, arguing that legalizing abortion until birth would “severely damage[]” the medical profession. Currently, abortion is prohibited after 24 weeks of pregnancy, unless the baby is diagnosed prenatally with a disability.
“This motion is being promoted by a small group of campaigners with extreme views on abortion,” the petition reads. “Whilst they are entitled to hold the convictions they do, we must not let them impose their agenda on the BMA and risk severely damaging our reputation.”
Several doctors spoke to the Daily Mail about why they chose to sign the petition. “These are massive issues which need to be thoughtfully addressed,” said Professor John Campbell, an expert in general practice and primary care at the University of Edinburgh. “It would be outrageous if this was passed and would lead to many doctors reviewing their position in respect to membership of the BMA. I would do that and I have been a member for 35 years.”
A former British Medical Association president has likewise come out against the measure. Baroness Sheila Hollins, a professor of psychiatry of learning disability at St George’s, University of London, said, “Aborting a baby after 24 weeks, the age of medically agreed viability, is an extreme move towards involuntary euthanasia.”
It’s not just doctors who oppose late-term abortions; a recent survey of Britons found that a majority want more restrictions on abortion, including a large majority who approve of making abortion after 20 weeks — instead of the current 24 week limit — illegal; one in three said they wanted abortions after 12 weeks made illegal. Only 1 percent of respondents wanted abortion legal at any point in pregnancy.
According to the website AbortionProcedures.com, aborting a child after 24 weeks means that “a baby is almost fully-developed and is considered viable, meaning he or she could survive outside the womb.” Former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levatino, explains the typical abortion procedure used to end the lives of preborn children so late in pregnancy:
At the meeting, doctors will be made to read a 52-page document on the subject of legalizing late-term abortion, which claims to be neutral, but several of the authors are pro-abortion extremists. One of them is none other than Wendy Savage, who has argued in favor of sex-selective abortion, as well as for abortion up through birth. She also has said that women should be allowed to order abortion pills online without ever having to see a doctor.
It seems that the doctors who signed the petition may not be off-base in thinking that a small group of pro-abortion extremists are imposing their agenda on the British Medical Association. Hopefully, the association leadership will see the petition and understand that the majority of doctors — and Britons — oppose such pro-abortion extremism, and will refuse to allow this to move forward.
