Research, data analysis, and commentary on abortion and declining birth rates.
Dr Jonathan Lord, medical director at MSI Reproductive Choices, reports to The Guardian that he is aware of up to 30 “deeply traumatic” cases where women have been investigated by the police, after being accused of managing their own illegal abortion, with some suffering “life-changing harm”. For me, there is little doubt that these heart-rending... Continue Reading →
On Thursday 25 January, the Criminal Justice Bill Committee debated and then withdrew the proposed amendments NC1 and NC2, tabled by Dame Diana Johnson MP and Stella Creasy MP, respectively. Noting that abortion is a very sensitive and incredibly important issue, committee members agreed not to vote on the amendments but rather to leave the... Continue Reading →
I submitted written evidence to the Criminal Justice Bill Committee in response to the proposed (abortion decriminalisation) amendments NC1 and NC2 submitted by MPs Dame Diana Johnson and Stella Creasy, respectively. Executive Summary Self-management of a medical abortion at 12-weeks or greater gestational age is considered unsafe, and thus not to be recommended, by the... Continue Reading →
Kevin Duffy, former global director of clinics development at MSI, said the organisation was among those letting “women obtain pills-by-post” despite the dangers of an “incomplete abortion” requiring medical help. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he said Dr Lord’s “perceived ‘problem’ of an increasing number of prosecutions is one of his own making and could... Continue Reading →
The Guardian, asking about what might be causing the recent increase in prosecution cases being brought against women suspected of an illegal abortion, says “it’s fair to say no one really knows for sure why…” and then in the very next part of the same sentence says, “the increased use of pills obtained to do... Continue Reading →
Dr Jonathan Lord, medical director for MSI Reproductive Choices, speaking on behalf of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, warns doctors that they must not report to the police any woman suspected of an illegal abortion. He said that new guidance will state that a healthcare worker must "justify" any disclosure of patient data... Continue Reading →
BPAS, Marie Stopes, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a further twenty-four abortion-supporting organisations recently submitted their co-signed written evidence to the Criminal Justice Bill Committee. They did so in response to amendment NC1 tabled at the end of November by Labour MP, Dame Diana Johnson. You can read more about this and other amendments... Continue Reading →
In June 2023, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) published a position statement from a coalition of 33 organisations calling for reform of the abortion law in England and Wales. The two amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill (CJB), tabled on 28 November 2023 by Dame Diana Johnson and Stella Creasy MP, are... Continue Reading →
On 28 November 2023, Dame Diana Johnson and Stella Creasy MP both submitted proposed amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill.[i] Whilst they have taken two different approaches, both want changes made to ensure that no woman faces prosecution or jail time for ending her pregnancy, at any gestation. These amendments had been widely advertised by... Continue Reading →
When talking about their ideology of abortion decriminalisation, activists will often emphasise that this will not mean abortion would be freed from all regulations. In this post we start to explore which regulations they might be referring to and whether these are currently being complied with. In tabling her proposed amendment to the Criminal Justice... Continue Reading →
Doctors are legally obliged to have enough evidence to justify forming a good faith opinion that a woman’s pregnancy is below the 10-weeks limit before prescribing pills-by-post and enabling her abortion at home. The DHSC does not consider this to be possible in the absence of an in-person consultation. On 07 November 2023, Scott Benton... Continue Reading →
This Post has been updated and republished here. In Northern Ireland, it has been shown that a law restricting abortion saved more than 100,000 lives in the years from 1967 to 2016. Since that law changed in March 2020, there has been a two and a half times increase in the annual number of abortions.... Continue Reading →
Research published by abortion activists indicates that women in the USA are making more than 6,000 requests each month for online abortion pills to be self-administered at home. This is an increase of more than 3,900 per month since the Dobbs ruling. Researchers Aiken, Starling et al measured the number of online requests for abortion... Continue Reading →
In the US, in the nine months following Dobbs, there have been 81,000 less abortions in those States that have enacted life-affirming laws limiting access to abortion; that’s about 9,000 less per month. Of course, many women have been able to travel to access abortion in other States where these laws are not in force,... Continue Reading →
On 13 April, in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis approved and signed the Heartbeat Protection Act (SB 300) saying: “We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida.” This legislation effectively bans most abortions after six weeks gestational age. However, it will not come into effect until after the decision by the... Continue Reading →
A new report in the USA shows how the Dobbs decision last year, led to 32,000 less abortions in the following six months. Average monthly abortion totals have fallen by about 6% and are now back to the levels reported in 2020, reversing a multi-year increasing trend. #WeCount is a national abortion reporting effort that... Continue Reading →
Since government approval was granted for telemedicine abortion at home, less than half of all eligible women have chosen, or were offered, the option of pills by post. There are more women still visiting abortion clinics than those using telemedicine. On March 30th, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 lockdown and the ensuing difficulties facing... Continue Reading →
When your global strategy is to promote and enable self-managed medical abortion, even in places in which the national laws prohibit this, then you need catchy slogans to justify your actions to your supporter base. How about these two: Harm reduction.Conscientious provision. In most countries, even in those in which the abortion law is relatively... Continue Reading →
On International Safe Abortion Day, September 28th, Marie Stopes International held a public webinar, during which one of its presenters stated that self-managed medical abortion using drugs from pharmacies across India is not legal. This is important because MSI has been reporting for many years that its operation in India provides at least 40% of... Continue Reading →
31 countries, including Poland, are clearing stating that abortion law is a sovereign matter; the United Nations and international organisations can lobby and campaign for abortion policy change but do not have the right to provide or enable the provision of illegal abortion services. Abortion law This week, Poland’s constitutional tribunal ruled that abortion for... Continue Reading →
