The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children has made its submission to the Government’s consultation on early medical abortion in England, ticking the box to say that early medical abortion at home, or DIY abortion, must end immediately.
SPUC’s Alithea Williams said: “It is vital that these dangerous DIY abortions do not become a permanent feature of life in this country. SPUC’s submission spells out the many dangers associated with the practice, and calls on the Government to end home abortions immediately.”
The Government (along with the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales) introduced the “pills by post” measure last March as a temporary measure during the pandemic. The measure allows abortion providers to send women both stages of a medical abortion in the post, following a telemedicine consultation, without seeing or examining her in person. The Department of Health and Social Care is now consulting on whether to make the measure permanent.
SPUC has been calling on supporters to complete the consultation. There is a written briefing to guide people through it, and SPUC recently collaborated with other pro-life groups to present two online briefings. The video can be watched here.
"An abundant evidence of dangers"
Alithea Williams went on: “Since the home abortion regime was introduced in March last year, there has been abundant evidence of its dangers. Women have taken abortion the pills sent through the post, well over the ten week gestational limit. Police have investigated babies being stillborn at 28 weeks, and even the death of a newborn. It’s also clear that abortion providers are not carrying out proper checks, and it is impossible to ensure that women are not being coerced.
“We need as many people as possible to complete this consultation to send a strong message to Government that this dangerous policy must end immediately.”
SPUC’s submission can be seen here.
The consultation for England ends on 26 February. A similar one in Wales ends on 23 February. The Scottish consultation ended last month.