Peers voted for an amendment introduced by Baroness Sugg by 75 to 35 in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Alithea Williams, SPUC’s Public Policy Manager, said: “It is very disappointing that a Healthcare bill has been hijacked to promote something that is not healthcare by any definition. Instead, it is a way to end the lives of unborn children that bypasses even the few safeguards for women that the abortion law provides. Advocates of this dangerous policy say we must listen to women who are affected by it – they ignore the fact that in the Government consultation, 45% of the group of women who had accessed the pills by post service during the pandemic felt that there were benefits in relation to safeguarding and women’s safety in requiring at least one visit to a service to be assessed by a clinician. This is more than twice the number (22%) who said that there would be disadvantages.
“It also ignores the evidence that 10,000 women have needed further hospital treatment after accessing this “service”.
“The Government made the right decision to end this policy after listening to the evidence, including the overwhelming results of the public consultation,” Ms Williams concluded. “We call on MPs to reject this when it reaches the Commons, and will be lobbying to that effect.
“The DIY home abortion scheme has inflicted untold damage to countless mothers and their babies. It should be consigned to history, where it belongs.”
