The proposal is one of three pro-life amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill, the others being MP Sir Liam Fox’s intervention to end the abortion of babies with Down’s syndrome up until the point of birth, and MP Caroline Ansell’s amendment to reduce the overall abortion time limit from 24 to 22 weeks.
Drummond’s amendment has gained support from high-profile MPs including Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former leader of the Conservative Party, Tim Farron, former Liberal Democrat leader, and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.
The proposal has been put forward as a vital safeguard to prevent coercion and to accurately ascertain the correct gestational age of an unborn child.
“Women using abortion pills at home without an in-person consultation are being put in danger from the serious risks associated with missed health issues, abortion coercion and the danger of self-administered late-term abortions”, said Drummond.
The amendment was backed by a poll that reported this week that 71% of women support the reinstatement of in-person consultations.
Drummond’s amendment follows the arrests and prosecutions of women suspected of illegally obtaining and using abortion drugs through the Government’s pills-by-post scheme, first introduced in response to lockdown in 2020, and made permanent in 2022, despite overwhelming public opposition.
SPUC Comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “Pills by post, or DIY abortion, has been a disaster for women and unborn babies. This innately dangerous scheme should never have been introduced in the first place.
“MPs have a duty to protect women. The absence of in-person consultations exposed vulnerable mothers to coercion and health risks inherent in late-term abortions, even though the supposed limit for at-home abortions is 10 weeks.
“For the sake of safety and comment sense, Parliament must reconsider the reckless pills by post policy.”
