Sex-selective abortion is the practice of an abortion taking place based upon the predicted sex of the unborn child. It almost exclusively involves the aborting of baby girls.
A recent BBC investigation revealed evidence that new NIPT pre-natal tests are being used on a widespread basis to determine the sex of babies early in pregnancy and some women are coming under intense pressure to undergo sex-selective abortions.
An undercover Telegraph investigation revealed that doctors were agreeing to provide sex-selective abortions “no questions asked”, and uncovered that sex-selective abortions were being offered in the UK, including by a doctor who worked both privately and for the NHS.
There is an increasing body of first-hand testimony from UK-resident women who say that they have been coerced into obtaining sex-selective abortions in the UK and abroad. A Department of Health and Social Care report on sex-selective abortion detailed the personal testimonies of women who had been coerced into obtaining a sex-selective abortion in the UK by their partner or family.
Polling shows that over 90% of women agree that the law should make abortion on the grounds of sex explicitly illegal.
While the Abortion Act does not mention abortion on the basis of sex, it does not explicitly make sex-selective abortion illegal. Despite repeated affirmations from the Government, major medical bodies and abortion providers have argued that abortion on the basis of sex is legal and there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that sex-selective abortion is occurring in the UK.
As recently as 2020, the UK Government said that abortion on the basis of sex was not legal. However, major medical authorities such as the British Medical Association (BMA) and the General Medical Council (GMC) have both argued that abortion on the grounds of sex can be permissible under the law. The BMA argued that it is possible that having a child of a particular sex could be grounds for an abortion if the sex of the child might have severe “effects on the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman”. The GMC made a similar argument. The UK’s largest abortion provider, BPAS, also maintains that sex-selective abortion is legal.
It is time for the Government to take action and make sex-selective abortion explicitly illegal.
Petition letter
Dear Prime Minister,
There is increasing evidence of sex selective abortion in the UK and this misogynistic practice must be stopped.
In 2015, the Department of Health and Social Care reported on personal testimonies from women who had been forced into having sex-selective abortions due to pressure from their partner or family. In 2018, the BBC uncovered evidence that non-invasive pre-natal testing (NIPT) was being used to determine the sex of the baby and that some women were coming under pressure to undergo sex-selective abortions.
89% of the general public and 91% of women want to see sex-selective abortion made explicitly illegal.
Despite the widespread opposition to sex-selective abortion and statements as recently as 2020 from the Health Minister to clarify that sex-selective abortion is illegal, major medical bodies such as the British Medical Association and the General Medical Council have both argued that abortion on the grounds of sex can be legal. The UK’s largest abortion provider, BPAS, also maintains that sex-selective abortion is legal.
Urgent clarity is needed. This misogynistic practice is barbaric and has had serious negative effects in countries overseas where the practice is widespread. I urge you to do everything within your power to ensure our abortion law is updated to make sex-selective abortion explicitly illegal.
