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New poll indicates very little support for MP’s radical abortion up to birth proposal

A new poll has revealed that only 16% of the general population disagree that it should remain the case that a woman is breaking the law if she has an abortion of a healthy baby after the current 24-week legal time limit up until birth.

The results of this polling, conducted by Whitestone Insight of 2,011 people from across Britain, indicate that there is very little public support for proposals from MPs that would remove offences that make it illegal for a woman to perform a self-abortion at any point right through to birth.

Extreme abortion amendment retabled

Two Labour MPs, Diana Johnson and Stella Creasy, had each tabled amendments to the Government’s flagship Criminal Justice Bill, which were withdrawn last week at Committee stage. Johnson, however, has since retabled her amendment, which will be considered at Report stage.

Johnson’s amendment would create a situation whereby women can perform self-abortions with no deterrent regardless of any regulations that may be introduced for abortion providers. Her amendment would therefore mean abortion is de facto deregulated for women who acquire abortion pills either by misleading abortion providers or through other means, since they would be free to take the pills at any gestation, rendering regulations worthless.

Why was the abortion time limit reduced from 28 weeks to 24 weeks in 1990?

The introduction of a 24-week gestational limit in 1990 was significantly motivated by the results of a Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) working party report on neonatal survival rates before 28 weeks of gestation.

During the debates ahead of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 becoming law, a number of MPs specifically tied the abortion limit to the point at which a child is “capable of being born alive” and noted that this was the rationale for setting the 28-week limit in the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929.

Similarly, when the question of abortion time limits was revisited in 2008, the lowering of the abortion time limit in 1990 was again linked to the increased survival rates for babies born before 28 weeks gestation.

The current gestational limit for abortion of 24 weeks is already very late compared with other countries, and is at a point when the baby has already been fully formed for 12 weeks.

At 12 weeks gestation (the most common abortion time limit among countries in the EU), the NHS outlines that the unborn baby is fully formed. All the organs, muscles, limbs and bones are in place, and the sex organs are well developed. From then on, the baby just has to grow and mature.

At around 15 weeks gestation, the unborn baby will start to hear – they may hear muted sounds from the outside world, as well as the sound of their mother’s voice and heart. At 16 weeks gestation, the muscles of the unborn baby’s face can now move and the beginnings of facial expressions appear. At 18 weeks gestation, the unborn baby may respond to loud noises from the outside world, such as music. At 22 weeks gestation, the unborn baby is beginning to get into a pattern of sleeping and waking. At 23 weeks gestation, the unborn baby’s lungs are practising breathing movements to prepare for life outside the womb.

Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “This recent polling indicates that the MPs behind these extreme abortion amendments are radically out of touch with public opinion on this matter”.

“Our abortion laws are already extremely permissive and even allow abortion up to the point of birth if the child is thought to have a disability. Stronger protections for unborn babies and their mothers need to be introduced, rather than the few remaining protections removed”.

Dear reader,

Despite the Leadbeater assisted-suicide Bill passing its Third Reading on 20 June, it scraped through by just 23 votes (314-291) after enjoying a 55-vote majority at Second Reading. Had 12 more MPs switched sides, the Bill would be dead. It now limps into the Lords with a wafer-thin majority, where peers can amend, delay or reject it outright.

THE CHALLENGE

Dignity in Dying, My Death My Decision and Humanists UK have poured millions into pushing assisted suicide and will fight hard to stop the Lords overturning the Bill.

At the same time, the Antoniazzi abortion-up-to-birth amendment, passed by MPs in June, also heads to the Lords. If it becomes law, it would no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason – including sex-selective purposes – and at any point up to and during birth.

We will be up against the UK’s largest abortion providers, BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes), who are expected to push for even more extreme changes to our abortion laws in the Lords.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Thousands of vulnerable lives are now at stake. Battling these two threats is the biggest and most expensive effort in our history, and has drained our limited resources. To fight effectively on both fronts, we aim to raise £200,000 by midnight this Sunday (13 July 2025).

Every donation, large or small, will help protect lives, and UK taxpayers can add 25p to every £1 through Gift Aid at no extra cost.

Will you make a donation now to help protect vulnerable lives from these major threats?

Ask your local representatives to take the Both Lives Pledge