A TORY MP has called for a ban on at home abortions like the one performed by a woman sentenced to prison for an illegal termination.
Edward Leigh, the Conservative MP for Gainsborough, claimed people “in the abortion industry” were using the case of mum-of-three Carla Foster – who was sentenced to 14 months in prison for terminating her pregnancy after the legal time limit – to advocate for “some sort of legal right to abortion up to birth”.
His comments, met with sympathy from others on the Tory benches, came during a debate in the Commons calling for a review of the ancient law used to prosecute Foster, the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
Leigh said: “When we were debating whether it was possible to receive an abortion pill through the post, we warned at the time there might be a tragic case like this and now some people in the abortion industry are using this very tragic case there should be some sort of legal right to abortion up to birth.
“Given that many babies are surviving at 24 weeks this is an obscene and cruel proposal. Surely the solution, given that it’s difficult to determine gestation without an in-person appointment, is to return to the system of in-person appointments so women can receive safe, legal abortions, if they wish?”
Responding for the Government to the urgent question raised by Labour’s Diana Johnson on Thursday morning, Sentencing Minister Edward Argar said if MPs wanted to change abortion laws they must hold a debate and put the matter to a free vote.
He said: “The Government is committed to ensuring access to safe, legal abortion and that all women in England and Wales have access to regulated abortion services on the NHS.
“I also want to be absolutely clear at the outset […] that I am unable to comment on any decisions made by the court in specific cases. Decisions made by the court are of course based on the facts and evidence before the court and are a matter for the court and the judiciary.
“Access to abortion in England and Wales has been settled in law by parliament and we do not intend to change this.”
Tory MP Desmond Swayne drew groans when he asked later in the debate: “This tragedy would not have occurred had there been a requirement for a face-to-face consultation and clinical administration of the drugs, would it?”
Meanwhile SNP home affairs spokesperson Alison Thewliss raised concerns that the judgment, passed at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Monday, would have a “chilling effect on women accessing healthcare services”.
She added: “Would [the minister] support, given the outrage this judgment has caused, decriminalisation to prevent this from ever happening again?”
Argar replied: “Whether the law in this area should be changed is a matter for this House, not a matter for the Government, it is a matter of conscience for members of this House.
"This House is not shy about expressing its will as we’ve seen on various matters and I suspect this may well be debated again in the future.
“In respect of [Thewliss’s] concerns about the impact this judgment may have, again, I will be cautious in not commenting on the judgment itself.
"Safe to say that I believe under all of the provisions that impact in this space I think there have only been two convictions in five years.”
