The press review index from 22 to 26 October 2007

Britain : too many abortions

The 40th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act which legalised abortion in England, Scotland and Wales has fuelled the debate once more. MP Lord David Steel, architect of the Abortion Act, expressed his concern in The Guardian newspaper saying "everybody can agree that there are too many abortions".

Last year, 193,000 women had an abortion, double the figures recorded in the early 70s. For Lord Steel, abortion is now used as a form of contraception. "This is irresponsible", he deplores.

In an open letter to the public, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, President of the Scottish Bishops' Conference, and Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, President of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, stated : "Whatever our religious creed or political conviction, abortion on this scale can only be a source of distress and profound anguish for us all". They pointed out that Great Britain has one of the most liberal abortion laws, "with abortions authorised up to 24 weeks and in the event of handicaps – and certain other cases – up until birth".

Pro-abortion organisations also expressed concern at these figures, pointing out that 41,000 women under the age of 20 have abortions every year. Family Planning blamed insufficient funding for contraceptive clinics and a lack of sex education.

While 77% of British people are in favour of abortion rights, some question the limit set by the law. 48% of British people think the limit should be lowered to 20 weeks. Babies born prematurely at 23 weeks can indeed survive. "It is ridiculous to abort foetuses that can survive", reckons Nadine Dorries, a Conservative MP. For the moment, the government has rejected this call.

Zenit 24/10/07- Le Temps (Eric Albert) 25/10/07

UK : woman gives birth after in vitro maturation

For the first time in the UK, a British woman has given birth to twins after undergoing in vitro maturation (IVM).

In standard in vitro fertilisation, eggs are harvested at a mature stage, following ovarian stimulation. Under IVM, immature eggs are used, which are then matured in vitro. With IVM, ovarian stimulation is not as lengthy, which avoids hyperstimulation syndrome. It is also a faster and less costly solution.

In January, the Oxford Fertility Centre was awarded the first licence to carry out IVM in the UK.

BBC news 24/10/07 - Timesonline (Mark Henderson) 25/10/07

"Women Deliver" Conference

For humanitarian organisations committed to protecting women, the family and life, the "Women Deliver" international conference, held from 18 to 20 October in London, was a failure. In a letter sent to the organising committee, 14 organisations including the FIAMC (International Federation of Catholic Doctors) condemned this conference which drew over 1800 people.

"Delegates were invited to take part in a general conference on the causes, prevention and treatment of pregnancy and birth complications which result in the death of numerous women, particularly in developing countries, and to consider effective solutions", they explained. However, the promotion of abortion ideology and practice dominated the conference, overshadowing "the real health needs of women and children".

The letter signatories pointed out that UN reports such as The World's Women 2005 : Progress in Statistics "concluded that accurate data on maternal mortality, including abortion, was not available, particularly for the developing world. Consequently, presenting unverified and unreliable data on illegal abortions as a fact can only be interpreted as a deliberate attempt to deceive participants and the international community".

The letter also deplored that certain members of the organising committee "who have financial interests in making abortion available, used the conference to further a personal agenda geared at promoting abortion in developing countries".

The conference was arranged by Deliver Now for Women & Children, a campaign launched by a world coalition of governments and organisations in September 2007. The campaign was spurred by UN concern at delays in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) concerning the reduction of maternal and infant mortality rates by 2015.

Zenit 23/10/07

International Conference on Medical Abortion

The Global Safe Abortion Conference was held from 23-24 October in London. Eight hundred public health experts, government representatives and women's health advocates from around the world convened at this international conference with a view to facilitating access to medical abortion. Representatives from nearly 60 countries took part in the conference, the first world gathering of its kind.

Some have already denounced unsafe abortion as "a moral outrage and a gross violation of women's basic human rights".

Prnewswire.co.uk 23/10/07