Abortion deadline should be reduced to 22 weeks, doctors urge MPs as they say current 24-week limit is outdated

Abortion deadlines should be reduced to just 22 weeks from the current 24 weeks, doctors say.

In a letter to all MPs, the group of 700 doctors wrote that medical advances meant that babies born during this period now had a good chance of survival.

The group, which includes senior NHS medics and GPs, said a baby born at 23 weeks now had a 40 per cent chance of survival. This is an increase from about 20 percent ten years ago.

Improving survival rates means there is a ‘long overdue’ need to reform abortion rules in England, according to the letter seen by The Telegraph.

“A reduction of the upper term to 22 weeks would now be appropriate given further medical advances that have led to significant further improvements in the survival rates of babies born before the 24-week abortion limit,” it said.

It comes as two opposing groups of MPs prepare for a battle over abortion legislation in the House of Commons.

One amendment, tabled by Conservative MP Caroline Ansell, joins this group of doctors in their push to lower the abortion limit to 22 weeks.

It was backed by 30 MPs, including former business secretary Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, ex-home secretary Sir John Hayes and former health secretary Maggie Throup.

Another proposal, put forward by Labour’s Dame Diana Johnson, who is also chair of the home affairs committee, seeks to decriminalize abortion after 24 weeks.

This would not change the legal 24-week limit on abortions, but would prevent women from going to jail if they get an abortion after this period, as in the case of Carla Foster.

Ms Foster, 45, was jailed for 28 months in 2023 for illegally taking abortion pills to end her pregnancy during the Covid lockdown.

The mother of three was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant at the time.

Doctors campaigning to lower the abortion limit to 22 weeks claim their call has precedent.

They cited how abortion limits were lowered in 1990 from 28 weeks to the current 24 weeks, in recognition of similar medical developments at the time that increased the chances of survival for premature babies.

The doctors also argued that Britain was out of step with the rest of Europe, with an average abortion limit across the continent of just 12 weeks, as in Germany, Italy and Ireland.

Therefore, their proposed 22-week limit represented only a “moderate change,” they said.

Although many European countries have stricter abortion deadlines, many countries also allow abortions on demand, meaning a woman does not need a reason to request a termination.

In contrast, abortions in Britain are only allowed on health and economic grounds, such as not being able to afford to care for a child.

As in Britain, abortion limits in Europe can be waived under certain circumstances, such as if continuing the pregnancy would endanger the woman’s life.

Writing in a separate op-edMs Ansell cited a poll showing that 60 per cent of Britons, and particularly 70 per cent of women, supported reducing the abortion limit to just 20 weeks, two short of her proposed amendment.

Ms Ansell added that the current 24-week limit led to a situation where premature babies born around this time were treated while abortions were carried out on fetuses of a similar age.

She added that, in her opinion, fetuses were essentially human at this stage of their development.

‘These babies are without doubt human: according to the NHS website, the unborn baby is “fully formed” at twelve weeks; By 18 weeks, babies can begin to react to loud sounds from the outside world.

‘At 22 weeks they get into a pattern of sleeping and waking, and by 23 weeks they practice breathing movements to prepare for life outside the womb.

‘And yet in 2021, the most recent year for which we have complete data, 755 abortions of babies at 22 or 23 weeks’ gestation were carried out under ground C of the statutory grounds under which abortions are permitted, for which around 24 are currently abortions exist. period of one week.’

Such abortions represent a small portion of the total performed that year, about 0.35 percent of the 214,256 abortions performed in 2021.

Although medical advances mean that premature babies born before they are fully developed at 37 weeks have a much better chance of survival, this is far from certain.

Pregnancy and baby loss charity Tommy estimates that babies born after 22 weeks have almost no chance of survival.

This increases to 10 percent after 22 weeks, 60 percent after 24 weeks, 89 percent after 27 weeks and 95 percent after 31 weeks.

Medical advances mean that babies born at 34 weeks and older have essentially no difference in survival compared to babies born at full term.

Current rules mean pregnant women in Britain can legally request an abortion until they are 24 weeks pregnant, but it is up to doctors whether this is allowed.

Under the 1967 Abortion Act, terminations are permitted on grounds of physical or mental health, as well as for financial reasons, such as being unable to afford to care for a child.

In Britain there is no access to abortion on demand. A woman cannot simply terminate a pregnancy, she must have a reason for doing so.

Abortions can still be legally performed after the 24-week limit, but only under very strict circumstances.

This could, for example, concern the life of the mother as a result of the pregnancy or if the child were born with a serious disability.

Before 10 weeks, abortions with drugs can be performed at home, after this period the procedure should be carried out in a specialized clinic.

At these clinics, most abortion services perform an ultrasound to determine how many weeks pregnant an expectant mother is.

The duration of pregnancy is calculated from the first day of a woman’s last menstrual period.