‘Temporary’ Coronavirus Rules Allowing DIY Home Abortions May Become Permanent

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 05: Pro-choice campaigners hold placards outside the Houses of Parl
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Oliver JJ Lane

A temporary rule change intended to allow women to have an abortion as easily as possible during the coronavirus lockdown may never be repealed, meaning the ’emergency’ situation may, in fact, become permanent.

Britain is facing a major liberalisation of its abortion laws after a temporary change enacted to allow women to continue having abortions without seeing a medical professional during the coronavirus lockdown may never be repealed.

According to an ‘exclusive’ report by British tabloid The Sunday Mirror, later followed up by newspaper of record The Times, allowing the ordering of abortion tablets over the telephone during lockdown has been considered a “success”.

The paper said on Sunday that “home abortions for women up to 10 weeks pregnant are set to become permanent following their success during lockdown”. It added that the rules, as they stood before lockdown, that abortions should take place in a clinic after a discussion with a professional were merely “outdated”.

The report cited the comments of abortion provider company spokesman Clare Murphy, who said in support of not rolling back the change: “All evidence supports the continuation of this service as in the best interests of women. Early abortion care at home has been one of the few healthcare success stories of the pandemic.”

As Breitbart London reported in March, when abortion access was made easier, the temporary change was passed without recourse to parliament under the government’s emergency powers and was intended to last two years. It meant women who were within the first ten weeks of pregnancy could terminate at home after a telephone call.

At the time, a spokesman for the government confirmed the change would be temporary, and the move was criticised by pro-life educational and caring charity Life. A spokesman for the group said: “It is unconscionable that the government is contradicting their stance, yet again, to allow women to be taking both stages of the medical abortion at home. It is an absolute disgrace that the abortion lobby should take advantage of the terrible situation we find ourselves in, with COVID-19, to instigate the biggest change to the Abortion Act (1967) we’ve seen in years, without any public consultation.”

Some 200,608 abortions took place in 2018 in England and Wales. According to the Mirror’s figures, over 90,000 women had at-home abortions through the new ‘temporary’ lockdown period alone.

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