A Labour leadership contender has come under fire after she revealed that she disagreed with killing disabled children in late-term abortions. John Smeaton, SPUC Chief Executive said: "The clear implication of such laws is that unborn children with disabilities, and by extension, all people with disabilities, are thought to be of less value than other human beings."

In an election questionnaire for the deanery of Salford, Ms Long-Bailey revealed that she disagreed with the current UK law which allows abortion up to birth in the case of possible foetal anomaly. 

Ms Long-Bailey said: "It is currently legal to terminate a pregnancy up to full-term on the grounds of disability while the upper limit is 24 weeks if there is no disability. I personally do not agree with this position and agree with the words of the Disability Rights Commission that ‘the context in which parents choose whether to have a child should be one in which disability and non-disability are valued equally.’"

Whilst Ms Long-Bailey has confirmed that she would support tighter regulations regarding abortion time-limits in the UK, she has made clear that this is a personal opinion and she is not currently seeking any change in law.

Eradicating disabled children in the UK

The UK’s 1967 Abortion Act permits abortion until birth if the unborn baby is suspected of having a foetal anomaly.

In 2019 in the United Kingdom, 3,428 unborn children were killed by abortion after being diagnosed with a possible disability. Reports from the Department of Health and Social Care describe how disabled children had their heart stopped via lethal injection during the abortion. 

Mr Smeaton added: "SPUC opposes the legalised destruction of innocent human life is being destroyed at any stage of pregnancy for any reason. It is barbaric. However, it is no surprise to find that disabled infants are being specifically targeted by abortion advocates. The movement for abortion and the movement for eugenics have in fact always been closely associated."