Abortion (Amendment) Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 10:40 am on 22 January 1988.

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Photo of Bernard Braine Bernard Braine , Castle Point 10:40, 22 January 1988

He said: Tonight is the happiest night of my life. Imagine what I would have missed if the doctors had not revived me on that September day long ago. Can freedom now be denied to a handicapped man? Can yessing be so difficult that rather than give a baby a chance at life, man treads upon his brother and silences him before he can draw one breath of this world's fresh air? Those of us who support the Bill must be sensitive—I believe that I am sensitive—to the views of those who want to be sure that it will not bar the way to termination in those cases where it can be established that the handicap is likely to be so severe that the child, if born, would be incapable of sustaining life in any meaningful sense. Here, medical technology—some of us have been watching it closely in recent years—comes to our aid. It has certainly not stood still since the Abortion Act became law 21 years ago.

Many of the disabilities that opponents of the Bill regularly cite as requiring the test of amniocentesis can now be detected much earlier, indeed as early as the eighth of 10th week of pregnancy, by a variety of methods. We may have to find—I am ready to join in the search—a formula that will safeguard the position of a woman for whom tests have begun before the 18th week but which for some reason are not complete before that time. That is a matter to which we must address ourselves in Committee. That is the message I have received from many of my right hon. and hon. Friends.

I know that we are being told by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the British Medical Association and other learned bodies that they are opposed to the Bill. However, before we fall over ourselves in considering the weight of their opinion, it is important for the House to realise that it is not shared by the majority of gynaecologists. A recent survey of about 700 gynaecologists, accounting for 40 per cent. of all those involved in that specialty in Britain, revealed that one third supported the recommendation of the Royal College and the BMA that the upper limit for abortion should be 24 weeks, but a substantial majority, nearly two in three—64 per cent. — would like to see the upper limit for abortion reduced from 28 weeks to 20 weeks or less with exceptions made when the mother's life is in danger or for severe foetal abnormality.

There is much more I should like to say, but there are many others who wish to speak. Let me emphasise once again that the Bill does not undermine the essential principles of the 1967 Act. As one who has a vivid memory of the debates in 1966 and 1967, I must echo what was said by the right hon. Member for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale that it was never his intention, nor was it the intention of Parliament at the time, to legislate for what we have today, which is virtually abortion on demand.

It is right to consider what should be done about babies likely to be born with severe handicaps, but in our compassion for all who are likely to suffer from some handicap, we should not allow ourselves to forget that the overwhelming majority of babies being aborted at present at 18 weeks or later would, if born and not destroyed because they are momentarily inconvenient, be perfectly normal, healthy children. Those children, too, cry out for our compassion. For that reason alone, the Bill deserves the support of the House.