Devi Shah, speaking for the Stop Gendercide campaign, has warned that abortion decriminalisation will lead to the abortion of more unborn baby girls in the UK. Her comments come ahead of a crucial Westminster debate on two pro-abortion amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill.
“It’s a heartbreaking reality that many women here in the UK come under pressure to have a termination from their partners and family members simply because they are expecting a girl”, said Shah.
She continued: “If sex-selective abortion is made legal, it will make it much more difficult for women to refuse pressure from their families to seek a sex-selective abortion.
“The legalisation of sex-selective abortion through to 24 weeks, combined with the private availability of early NIPT tests for gender, would likely lead to a significant increase in sex-selective abortions taking place here in the UK.”
Pro-abortion amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill that amount to de facto decriminalisation are expected to be debated in the coming weeks. This is the greatest threat to unborn babies and their mothers since the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act, SPUC has stated.
Stop Gendercide has highlighted evidence pointing to mothers being pressured into sex-selective abortions in the UK, enabled by non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT).
In 2018, Labour MP, Naz Shah, Shadow Women and Equalities Minister, advised that such tests were being used across the UK within ethnic minority communities that had a “cultural preference for boys”, leading to abortions.
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has also warned that increasingly widespread NIPT tests could turn the UK into a haven for sex-selective abortions.
SPUC has detailed various instances of such abortions in the UK and around the world, including in India where sex-selective abortion is commonplace. One study estimated that the practice could lead to 6.8 million fewer girls being born by 2030, further skewing the nation’s male-to-female ratio.
MPs must avert disaster
SPUC’s Michael Robinson, Executive Director (Public Affairs and Legal Services), said: “The removal of all legal protections for unborn babies will be a disaster for girls, in particular, who would be targeted by abortion simply because they are girls, which is unfortunately still a gross reality in many places.
“While many pro-abortion MPs and activists claim to be standing for women’s rights, the amendments they propose would sign the death warrants for an untold number of unborn baby girls.
“De facto decriminalisation of abortion will have many devastating ramifications for unborn children and women. MPs must reject these amendments for the sake of everyone, born and unborn, male and female. They have to duty to ensure that justice and reason prevail against anti-life ideology.
"Please contact your MP now, and ask them to oppose abortion decriminalisation."