Britain must not import America’s abortion culture war

British politicians tend to avoid the issue of abortion. The subject divides America bitterly, yet Britain has opted for consensus. Now and again, however, a debate about abortion flares up – as it did this week after a number of pressure groups reacted with anger to the jailing of a mother of three who induced an abortion when eight months pregnant, using pills posted to her by the NHS. She pleaded guilty under the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 and will spend a year in jail.

That, according to Clare Murphy, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, is an outrage. She described Britain’s abortion law as ‘archaic’ and called for the end of criminal sanctions. One abortion charity asserted that ‘abortion is healthcare, yet it is still governed by a law from 1861, at a time when healthcare and society were completely different.’ In truth, abortion at such a late stage is illegal almost everywhere – and the modern trend, if anything, is towards tighter regulations given how much more can be done for unborn children.

Abortion has been legal since 1968 up to 24 weeks of gestation in most cases. It is available, free of charge, on the NHS, and not just in instances where the mother’s health is under threat, but for purely social reasons too. For children with severe disabilities, abortion may be performed legally up to the point of birth. Other later-term abortions remain criminal acts under the 1861 Act.

Nonetheless, we have a law that is more liberal than the vast majority of countries in the world – a 12-week limit is commonplace.In our country, 230,000 abortions are carried out every year. Such numbers do not suggest a country stuck in the 19th-century world of backstreet abortionists.

Modern medicine has become very good at saving premature babies, who now account for one in every 13 births.