Is 'partial birth' abortion legal in the UK?

January 8th, 2009
  • Is Partial-Birth abortion (Intact Dilation & Extraction as defined on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/abortion/medic_method3.shtml) legal in the UK? (and if so, which criteria must be met?) Avenues exhausted: Wikipedia: Intact_dilation_and_extraction, partial-birth_abortion (refers only to US legislation on PBA) Wikipedia: Abortion_in_the_United_Kingdom (doesn't refer to methods used after 18 weeks) Abortion Rights UK: http://www.abortionrights.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56&Itemid=44 (doesn't mention partial birth)


  • Hello and thank you for your question. The current law on abortion is contained in: Abortion Act (1967) http://www.swarb.co.uk/acts/1967AbortionAct.shtml http://members.aol.com/abtrbng/aa67.htm as amended by Section 37 of The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (1990) http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1990/Ukpga_19900037_en_2.htm Neither statute limits the surgical or chemical methods that are permissible to carry out a legal abortion. So in answer to your question, Intact Dilation & Extraction, not being illegal, is legal. The UK law defines the circumstances in which abortion can be performed legally. Abortion is allowed up to 24 weeks on condition that continuing with the pregnancy involves a greater risk to: the physical or mental health of the woman, or the physical or mental health of the woman's existing children than having a termination. When establishing the level of risk to health, doctors can take into consideration a woman's ?actual or reasonably foreseeable environment', which includes her personal and social situation. Abortion is also allowed if there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would ?suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped'. Abortion is allowed after 24 weeks if there is: risk to the life of the woman, evidence of severe fetal abnormality, or risk of grave physical and mental injury to the woman. An abortion must be: agreed by two doctors (one in an emergency) and carried out by a doctor, and carried out in a government-approved hospital or clinic." http://www.abortionrights.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=44 Bpas states on its website that it does not perform abortions where the 24-week limit has been passed. "Each year, Bpas, Britain's leading provider of abortion care, helps 50,000 women with abortions. We are also called by about 100 others who have passed the 24-week gestation limit. We tell them abortion is no longer a legal option in Britain." http://www.abortionrights.org.uk/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=81 Since as noted in the website that you quoted in your question, "any women who opt for "partial-birth" abortions do so because their foetuses have severe or fatal anomalies or because the pregnancy endangers their lives or health." Thus it would be legal for Bpas or another agency to provide the partial birth procedure in that circumstance, but it appears to be against Bpa's policy to do so. Bills have been recommended in 1996-1997 to prohibit partial-birth abortions, but it has not become law. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/cgi-bin/semaphoreserver?DB=semukparl&TBDB=&TEMPLATE=&QUERY00=&PROP00=T%3DP&QUERY09=&PROP09=T%3DB&THRESHOLD=100&STYPE=ADVANCED&CGIDATETYPE=&PROP04=T%3DP&CMD%3Dsearch.run%26FILE%3Dresults=search&ANDQUERY=&ORQUERY=&PHRASEQUERY=partial+birth+abortion&NOTQUERY=&CATEGORY=&CATEGORY_EXTRA=&ORIGINAL_CATEGORY=&ORIGINAL_CATEGORY_EXTRA=&QUERY03=&PROP03=s%3Dnone%2Ct%3Db%2C p%3DI2&STARTDATE=&ENDDATE=&ONDAY=&ONMONTH=&ONYEAR=&DATETYPE=SINCE&SINCEDAY=26&SINCEMONTH=11&SINCEYEAR=G92003&BETWEENDAY1=&BETWEENMONTH1=&BETWEENYEAR1=&BETWEENDAY2=&BETWEENMONTH2=&BETWEENYEAR2=&QUERY05=&PROP05=T%3DB%2CP%3DJ0&QUERY06=&PROP06=T%3DP%2CP%3DJ1&B2=&ORGANISE_CODED=R%3Adate http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199697/cmhansrd/vo961204/debtext/61204-23.htm Search terms used: bpas abortion extraction site:.uk bpas "22 weeks" "partial birth" site:.uk "Abortion Act" 1967 "Abortion Act" "partial birth" Thanks again for letting us help Google Answers Researcher Richard-ga







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