From the [UK] Daily Mail and Catholic News Service:

An amendment to restrict the termination of fetuses with disabilities was defeated in the UK House of Lords by a vote of 161-121 this week, in what was described as the first parliamentary battle over abortion laws in almost 20 years. The measure was proposed by peer Baroness Masham, and would have amended the Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill to allow abortions for “serious and potentially life-threatening” conditions rather than for simply “serious conditions.”

She introduced the measure in the wake of reports that abortions were being carried out late in pregnancy on children with treatable disabilities such as missing digits, club foot or cleft palate. British law currently permits terminations as late as 39 weeks — virtually full term — if the fetus is thought to have a “serious disability,” but there is no definition of “serious.” Abortions in cases without disability are limited to 24 weeks gestation.

Said Baroness Masham: “Handicapped babies are still being aborted right up to full term, which is just horrific. I can think of no greater affront to equal opportunities for those who are disabled than the denial of the right to life itself.”

The vote was described by the Daily Mail as the “opening salvo in weeks of controversy.”

See also a letter in support of Baroness Masham by the Alive and Kicking campaign here.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 25th, 2008 at 8:43 am and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, abortion, international, law, prenatal diagnosis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post