Two major British abortion providers are demanding more tax payer money for abortions in Britain despite the struggling NHS.
Both the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) and MSI Reproductive Choices have told i news that their organisations are not being paid enought for the abortions they perform on behalf of the NHS.
MSI Reproductive Choices and BPAS are two of the largest independent abortion providers in Britain. 165,400 out of 214,256 abortions performed on residents of England and Wales in 2021, took place in the independent sector funded by the NHS.
NHS abortions are funded through the National Tariff system, a set of rules and prices that govern the payments made by Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), which commission abortion services, to providers for carrying out abortions.
Under the tariff, a medical abortion – when women take two pills to induce an abortion – between nine and fourteen weeks as an outpatient procedure costs around £500, once staff and other expenses are taken into account. A surgical abortion up to 14 weeks costs £1,078.
Katherine O’Brien, associate director of communications and campaigns at BPAS, said that abortion needs to be more widely available and wanted to see more funding for abortions provided to private providers. “
Similarly Dr Jonathan Lord, medical director of independent provider MSI Reproductive Choices said that abortion providers should be paid more for the abortions they perform.
Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said: “Following Covid 19 pandemic, the pressure on the NHS as well as funding difficulties are now well established..”
“It is a scandal that abortion is legal in the first instance; it is a further scandal that the British taxpayer is having to pay for it; it is a further scandal that abortion providers are demanding that more money be diverted from genuine healthcare to fund abortion. Being pregnant is not a disease. Performing an abortion is not treatment.”
