SPUC deplores BMA's call for wider abortion provision

SPUC deplores BMA's call for wider abortion provision Westminster, 6th June 2007 - The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has condemned the call by the British Medical Association (BMA) for nurses to be given the role of abortionists in the NHS. Anthony Ozimic, SPUC political secretary, commented: "It is understandable that doctors are sick of abortion. It grates on their consciences and demeans them. Killing unborn babies is not what doctors become doctors for. But the BMA's call for others to take on this role is deplorable because it amounts to doctors dumping work on nurses - the gruesome work of killing unborn children. Nurses are already over-stretched and in short supply, and nursing is about caring, not killing. This would be a damaging blow to nursing. "The call for abortion to be made more freely available in early pregnancy is also inept. Most people agree that there are too many abortions already. This would lead to even greater numbers. The statistics are staggering - 2005 saw the highest rate of abortions ever reported in England and Wales. The figures for 2006 (due next month) are expected to be higher. We call on the government, the medical profession and all those concerned to reverse the current policies which encourage abortions. "The BMA's suggestion of fast-tracking women directly to abortionists will further worsen the problem and will leave women more vulnerable to the pressures that lead to abortions. "More abortions will solve nothing. Abortion is not medicine, it is bad social engineering." Note to editors * The abortion rate for 2005 was 17.0 per thousand women aged 15-44 (crude rate). The age-standardized rate was 17.8. * This represented the highest ever number of recorded abortions on resident women in England and Wales (186,416).