Two-thirds of UK women support reinstating in-person visit for at-home abortions

Right to Life UK has issued a press release noting that 30 Members of Parliament (MP) from six different political parties have introduced an amendment to the UK’s Crime and Policing Bill requiring in-person visits with medical providers before receiving the abortion pill for at-home use. The vote is expected on Tuesday, June 17.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Even “pro-choice” MPs have acknowledged the significant risks of the UK’s “pills-by-post” scheme — in other words, mail-order abortion pill under a “no-test” protocol requiring no testing, ultrasound dating, or exams.

• The UK has seen cases in which this protocol led to the deaths of preborn children late in pregnancy.

• Two-thirds of women polled believe that an in-person visit should be required before a woman obtains the abortion pill.

• Another amendment seeking to allow abortion up to birth for any reason has very little support, as shown by polling.

THE DETAILS:

Right to Life UK notes that NC106, the amendment introduced by Dr. Caroline Johnson MP, “would enable an accurate assessment, in person, of any likely health risks for a woman taking abortion pills, her gestational age and the possibility of a coerced abortion” before she obtains the drugs. The group notes:

The small recent increase in such prosecutions for illegal late-term abortions, ending the lives of viable babies, is a direct result of the ‘pills-by-post’ scheme that means women are able to obtain abortion pills without an in-person consultation to accurately assess their gestational age or possible health risks such as an ectopic pregnancy.

This has been acknowledged by pro-choice MPs and campaigners including Stella Creasy MP, abortion rights expert Dr Claire Pierson and major pro-choice leaning newspaper The Observer.

Polling shows that two-thirds of women polled support the amendment requiring in-person visits prior to obtaining the abortion pill.

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THE CONTEXT:

As pregnancy progresses, abortion risks also increase. Right to Life UK notes that the complication rate for women who take the abortion pill at 20 weeks or later is more than 160 times higher than taking the pill between two and nine weeks gestation.

Right to Life UK noted:

Telemedicine home abortions were originally introduced in March 2020 as a temporary measure during the pandemic.

In February 2022, the Government announced the scheme would end after running a consultation in which 70% of respondents called for an immediate end to at-home abortion schemes.

However, at-home abortion schemes were made permanently available via a backbench amendment moved in the House of Lords to the Health and Care Act in March 2022, which narrowly passed by just 27 votes in the Commons.

Recently, Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi proposed legalizing abortion up to birth, removing penalties for women obtaining abortions at any point in pregnancy — an action that would greatly increase abortion numbers. According to polling, just 16% of those in the UK support such an idea.

Right to Life UK added that “MPs see that the solution to the major problems with these schemes is in-person appointments, not making them worse by removing key deterrents against performing an abortion at any point right through to birth.”

THE BOTTOM LINE:

According to the press release, Dr Caroline Johnson MP said:

Since its introduction, the safeguarding risks caused by the ‘pills by post’ scheme have been evident, with one man able to obtain pills by a third party to induce a woman to have an abortion against her will or knowledge, and other women taking the pills later in pregnancy, in some cases because they were mistaken about their gestation, putting themselves in danger. 

If the amendment passes, the at-home abortion pill would remain legal and available with a reinstated requirement for an in-person visit.