A voluntary Government scheme has been unveiled offering official recognition to parents who lose a child before 24 weeks of pregnancy. SPUC has welcomed the initiative as a “step forward towards building a culture of life where every unborn child is recognised as being precious and worthy of life”. 

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has set out a new Government scheme designed to redress “disappointment and disillusionment” with health services and to “improve care for women and their partners who experienced the tragedy of pregnancy loss”.

Health Secretary Barclay said: “At the moment, although parents whose babies are stillborn must legally register the stillbirth, if a pregnancy ends before 24 weeks’ gestation, there is no formal process for parents to legally register their baby, which I know can be distressing for many bereaved parents.”

SPUC recently reported on the story of a heartbroken mother from Northern Ireland who gave birth to a stillborn son at 17 weeks. His name was Hugh. Hugh’s mother’s grief was compounded by medical staff who did not allow her to hold her son. “He was just put in a box and left on a windowsill on top of a cabinet…

“Even though some people might think you’re not giving birth to a full-term baby, you’re still giving birth... and it still hurts.”

SPUC comment

A SPUC spokesperson said: “This Government scheme is to be welcomed, recognising that the death of a child at any stage of gestation is indeed a tragic loss of a human being – a tragedy for the parents as well as the child who will never get to live life to the full and enjoy what the world has to offer.

“SPUC hopes that such recognition will ultimately lead to a reversal of life-denying abortion. The loss a parent feels when losing a child is indicative of the reality that an unborn child is precious and just as human and worthy of life as any other child.”

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