Abortion chief: home abortions "safer than aspirin"
Ann Furedi, CEO of BPAS claimed on BBC television this morning that women should be able to buy abortion pills online, because the drugs are safer than over the counter medication.
She made the comments on the Victoria Derbyshire show, which has obtained statistics showing that the number of abortion pills being bought online is increasing. The figures, from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) - which regulates medicines in the UK - show there were 375 pills seized last year, up from 270 in 2015 and 180 in 2014.
Abortion up to birth
BPAS is campaigning for all abortion to be completely decriminalised, which would allow for abortion up to birth, for any reason. (Ann Furedi promoted this position in her recent book, The Moral Case for Abortion- read review here)
Ann Furedi argued that there should be no criminal sanction for women who buy illegal drugs online to self-induce an abortion. She said that the pills are "extremely safe" and "less risky than many of the drugs that we buy over the counter". BPAS has been campaigning for "bedroom abortions" for years SPUC helped to defeat such a move in a High Court Judgement in 2011.
Risking women's health
Anne Scanlan, representing Life Charity on the show, pointed out that there are more than twice as many complications from medical abortions than from surgical (209 compared to 85), which Ms Furedi failed to address. While advocating for allowing people to have abortions "in the comfort of their own home", she also made no mention of the horrific experiences many women suffer, often passing the baby alone in the bathroom. Live Action details a number of these experiences here.
Watch the show here!
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