The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has reacted angrily to the news that the Department of Health has authorised home use for both stages of early so-called medical abortion during the coronavirus pandemic. SPUC has condemned the move which it said poses dangers for women and is "exploiting a time of national crisis to rush through an ideology-driven change".
"This is a dangerous and ill-thought through move," said Antonia Tully, SPUC Director of Campaigns. "Mifepristone and misoprostol are powerful drugs designed to kill an unborn baby - the rules regulating them shouldn’t be changed in this way.
"The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has been campaigning for these DIY abortions for months, as part of a propaganda campaign to assure women that abortion pills are safe and simple, when they are anything but. Now they are exploiting a time of national crisis to make this ideological change.
"This hurried ‘temporary’ measure, has been pushed through at a time when the nation is grappling to cope with Covid 19. Under this new approval, medical practitioners can prescribe the pills from their home which now counts as ‘a class of place for treatment’. And the practitioner can prescribe these deadly drugs ‘via video link, telephone conference or other electronic means’."
Mrs Tully continued: "The evidence is that home abortions increase the risks to women. One study, tracking women living in a rural environment, found an increase in complications from 4.2% in 2008 to 8.2% in 2015, for medical abortions at less than 12 weeks. The authors said that a "potential reason is that the proportion of induced abortions performed at home has risen."[1]
Mrs Tully went on: "The RCOG recently released guidance which calls abortion ‘essential’. Ending the life of a child is never essential, and to try and claim this when the NHS trying desperately to save life is even more disgusting. It is vital to conserve our core services for genuine health emergencies rather than see them lost on unnecessary elective procedures like abortion."
Notes to editors:
Contact us:
Antonia Tully, SPUC Director of Campaigns, can be contacted on 07926007175.
Or Tom Hamilton Communications on Mob: 07836 603977
t.hamilton2006@yahoo.co.uk