Stop discrimination against baby girls

Stop discrimination against baby girls by supporting a law change to clarify that sex-selective abortion is illegal.

Sex-selection abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based on the predicted sex of the baby.

It is estimated that over 140 million women are missing across the globe, mostly due to sex-selective abortion and infanticide. Women can come under intense pressure from families, husbands, boyfriends and other third parties to terminate a pregnancy, usually when a baby girl is expected.

In the United Kingdom, a lack of clarity in current legislation has been exploited to allow abortions to be provided on the basis of the baby’s sex. The British Medical Association (BMA) has outlined cases where it believes sex-selective abortion is permissible on mental health grounds, and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), which performs more than 100,000 abortions per year, also makes the claim in its literature that abortion for gender is not illegal. 

A BBC investigation revealed that Non-Invasive Prenatal Tests (NIPT) are being used widely to determine the gender of babies, with women disclosing that they were under intense pressure to undergo sex-selective abortions. There is also a body of first-hand testimony from UK-resident women who say that they have come under intense pressure from family members to have sex-selective abortions and have gone on to obtain these abortions in the UK. 

Notably, a report from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, a government advisory body, found a number of websites offering ‘baby gender tests’ for around £170. In that report, the Council warned that the increasingly widespread use of the tests in the UK could lead to the country becoming a haven for sex-selective abortions.

An investigation by the Telegraph revealed that doctors were agreeing to provide sex-selective abortions ‘no questions asked’.

Independent polling undertaken by ComRes showed that 89% of the general population and 91% of women agree that gender-selective abortion should be explicitly banned by the law.

Lower the abortion time limit

Bring the law closer to the laws in the majority of European Union (EU) countries by lowering the gestational time limit for abortion.

Our current abortion time limit is double the most common abortion limit among EU countries, which is 12 weeks. 

Countries with 12-week limits for abortion on demand or on broad social grounds include Germany, Italy and Belgium as well as the more “liberal” Nordic countries Denmark and Finland. Even Sweden has a time limit for abortion on demand or on broad social grounds that is much lower than the United Kingdom at 18 weeks.

The latest guidance from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine enables doctors to intervene to save premature babies like Harry and Harley from 22 weeks.

Research indicates that a significant number of babies born at 22 or 23 weeks gestation can now survive outside the womb.

This leaves a real contradiction in British law. In one room of a hospital, doctors could be working to save a baby born alive like Harry or Harley at 22 or 23 weeks whilst, in another room of that same hospital, a doctor could perform an abortion that would end the life of a baby at the same age.

Bringing our law closer to the laws in the majority of EU countries by lowering the gestational time limit for abortion will bring us in line with modern science, and is well supported by the public.

Independent polling from ComRes shows that 70% of women want to see the time limit for abortion reduced to 20 weeks or below.

Stop pregnancy and maternity discrimination

Support women in the workplace by backing policies designed to stop pregnancy and maternity discrimination.

The Equality Act 2010 was supposed to stop discrimination in the workplace, but evidence has emerged that pregnant women and mothers still face high levels of discrimination.

Findings from interviews conducted with over 3,000 employers and over 3,000 mothers show that an alarming 77% of mothers report having “a negative or possibly discriminatory experience during pregnancy, maternity leave, or on return from maternity leave”.  More specifically, half of mothers reported “a negative impact on their opportunity, status or job security”, and 20% reported “financial loss” as a result of their pregnancy.

While a majority of employers believe “it was in their interests to support pregnant women’’, and “that statutory rights relating to pregnancy…[are] reasonable and easy to facilitate”, the summary of key findings outlined several other concerning statistics, including:

• Approximately 1 in 9 mothers stated “they felt forced to leave their job. This included those being dismissed (1%); made compulsorily redundant, where others in their workplace were not (1%); or feeling treated so poorly they felt they had to leave their job (9%)”.
• 1 in 5 mothers reported “harassment or negative comments related to pregnancy or flexible working from their employer/colleagues” and
• 1 in 10 mothers said they “were discouraged from attending antenatal appointments”.

Notably, single and ethnic minority mothers were both “more likely to report financial loss” and “a negative impact on opportunity”.

Experiencing pregnancy and maternity discrimination could result in a scenario where women have to pick between being discriminated against but being financially secure, or leaving their job and struggling financially. No woman should have to make this choice.

Independent polling from ComRes shows that 79% of the general population and 84% of women agree that women who want to continue with their pregnancies, but are under financial pressure to have an abortion, should be given more support. Stopping pregnancy and maternity discrimination would help provide many women across the country with the financial support they need to care for their children and themselves.