Abortion time limits
November 2006
The BMA has long supported the Abortion Act as a practical and humane piece of legislation. At the BMA's 2005 annual conference, representatives overwhelmingly rejected a call that the upper limit for legal abortion should be reduced in the light of new evidence of foetal developments and advances in neonatal care.
The BMA represents members with a wide range of views on abortion and has clear democratic and representative mechanisms for formally establishing policy on such issues, through its annual conference (the Annual Representative Meeting, ARM).
The BMA believes it is important to keep legislation and public policy under review but also believes that there is a responsibility amongst policy makers, health professionals and the media to base discussion and debate on factual information. Such information is often difficult to find.
The BMA produced a briefing paper in 2005 to provide factual information for BMA members, policy makers and the wider public, in order to facilitate good quality, informed debate about abortion time limits. Read more here
For further information, please contact the Parliamentary Unit:
Address: BMA House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JP
Fax: 020 7383 6830
Email: parliamentaryunit@bma.org.uk