On Tuesday, BBC news ran a segment on late term abortion, using “exclusive” information from abortion provider BPAS. Dr Patricia Lohr of BPAS said that abortion is needed for women with some medical conditions, comments that a doctor has dismissed as “untrue” and “bad medicine”.

The BBC presenter introduced the segment by saying that “the NHS is failing women with medical complications who need late term abortions”. As well as Dr Lohr, the BBC interviewed Ed Dorman, “one of the only doctors in the country who performs abortions up to the legal limit”, and a woman who had a late term abortion for social reasons.

The BBC at no time challenged BPAS’s assertions that abortion was “needed” for medical reasons. The only “balance” provided on the segment was a thirty second interview with pro-life charity Life, and their spokeswoman was not given the opportunity to challenge the medical points made.

"There are no medical indications for direct abortions"

Dr Dermot Kearney, head of the Catholic Medical Association, responded to Dr Lohr’s points about abortion for medical conditions, saying: “What she is saying is untrue. In reality, there are no medical indications for direct abortion. The 2012 Dublin declaration is very clear about that. It is scandalous to suggest that abortion should be considered for management of poorly-controlled diabetes or epilepsy. There is no evidence anywhere to support that policy.”

Drawing attention to one issue Dr Lohr raised, Dr Kearney said: “In cases of the placenta overgrowing a previous C-section scar site it is true that great caution must be taken if a further C-section is carried out. That is what medicine is all about - providing optimal care for all patients in all situations. Good and experienced obstetricians have no problems dealing with these issues in an ethical manner. Resorting to abortion in such situations is a failure to deal with a clinical challenge in the correct way. It is the lazy option and doesn't attempt to use all of the resources available to provide good care. Put simply it is bad medicine.”

"Mislead on medical matters to promote the abortion industry"

Bioethicist Dr Anthony McCarthy also commented on the segment, as well as a series of tweets BPAS put out about late-term abortion.

"Dr Patricia Lohr appears to regard it as a matter of regret that, despite her zealous efforts and those of colleagues to get them aborted, 25 to 30 late-term babies were born instead,” he said. “Such births should, however, be welcomed, not regretted, and the mother given any support she needs.  In many of the cases Dr Lohr mentions, the baby might well have been viable at the time of any abortion:  if there was a medical emergency, as opposed to a risk or chronic health issue, not abortion but early delivery would have been indicated.”

He went on: “Below the video, we see follow-up tweets from Bpas defending late-term abortions, which are especially ugly and traumatic, as needed for "a host of reasons" including bereavement and late discovery of pregnancy.  That women who at some point wanted a late-term abortion have gone on to have their babies rather than experience the distress of such an abortion is deplored by Dr Lohr, who seems happy to mislead on medical matters in order to promote the abortion industry she works for."

You can complain to the BBC here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints