Article here.
Daily Mail
The abortion rebellion: NHS doctors refuse to carry out terminations
Rising numbers of doctors are refusing to carry out abortions, leading to a crisis in NHS provision.
The stance by staff, taken on ethical grounds, has led to a doubling of abortions carried out by private clinics, according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
The swell of medical staff joining the unprecedented moral revolt means that there may soon not be enough doctors to carry out sufficient terminations to meet the public demand.
Katherine Guthrie, a spokesman on family planning for the RCOG, said: "You get no thanks for performing abortions. You get spat on. Who admits to friends at a dinner party that they are an abortionist?
"There is an increasing number of young doctors who are not participating in training. The Department of Health is really worried."
The numbers of terminations carried out in Britain currently stands at a record 190,000 a year. But refusals by its doctors mean that the NHS is having to pay private hospitals to carry out the procedures.
The percentage of abortions carried out in private hospitals has doubled from 20 per cent in 1997 to almost 40 per cent today.
Abortion is legal in Britain up to nine months if doctors believe the baby has a severe disability or the mother's life is at risk.
But termination for 'social' reasons - the effect of the pregnancy on the mental health and well-being of the mother - is legal up to 24 weeks.
However, campaigners argue that the current Abortion Act is outdated because of medical advances that mean more premature babies than ever now survive.
James Gerrard, a GP in Leeds, said: "Out of the six doctors in our practice, three of us object to abortion. I had made up my mind on abortion before entering the medical profession. I feel the foetus is a person and killing that foetus is wrong."
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "This is an issue we will be discussing with the RCOG."
Rising numbers of doctors are refusing to carry out abortions, leading to a crisis in NHS provision.
The stance by staff, taken on ethical grounds, has led to a doubling of abortions carried out by private clinics, according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
The swell of medical staff joining the unprecedented moral revolt means that there may soon not be enough doctors to carry out sufficient terminations to meet the public demand.
Katherine Guthrie, a spokesman on family planning for the RCOG, said: "You get no thanks for performing abortions. You get spat on. Who admits to friends at a dinner party that they are an abortionist?
"There is an increasing number of young doctors who are not participating in training. The Department of Health is really worried."
The numbers of terminations carried out in Britain currently stands at a record 190,000 a year. But refusals by its doctors mean that the NHS is having to pay private hospitals to carry out the procedures.
The percentage of abortions carried out in private hospitals has doubled from 20 per cent in 1997 to almost 40 per cent today.
Abortion is legal in Britain up to nine months if doctors believe the baby has a severe disability or the mother's life is at risk.
But termination for 'social' reasons - the effect of the pregnancy on the mental health and well-being of the mother - is legal up to 24 weeks.
However, campaigners argue that the current Abortion Act is outdated because of medical advances that mean more premature babies than ever now survive.
James Gerrard, a GP in Leeds, said: "Out of the six doctors in our practice, three of us object to abortion. I had made up my mind on abortion before entering the medical profession. I feel the foetus is a person and killing that foetus is wrong."
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "This is an issue we will be discussing with the RCOG."
EDIT: Second article, this one from BBC News
Article here.
BBC News
Abortions 'crisis' threatens NHS
An increasing number of doctors are refusing to carry out abortions, leading to a crisis in NHS services, experts have warned
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says there has been a big rise in the number of doctors who are "conscientious objectors".
Around 190,000 abortions take place in England and Wales annually.
The NHS pays for four out of five - but half of these are carried out by private sector providers.
This is double the proportion performed in the private sector 10 years ago.
Abortion is legal in Britain up to 24 weeks, however it can occur later if doctors believe the baby has a severe disability or if the mother's life is at risk.
Experts say the decline in the number of NHS doctors willing to perform abortions has also declined because they are able to "pick and choose" the areas they train and specialise in - and very few opt to carry out terminations when they can choose other areas such as fertility medicine.
'Essential service'
Kate Guthrie, head of abortion services in Hull and a spokeswoman for the RCOG, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have always had conscientious objectors, but more doctors now are just wanting to something different and don't see abortion care as attractive."
But she said it was a necessary service.
"The Abortion Act came in because women were prepared to do anything rather than have unplanned pregnancies. Nothing has changed.
"If abortions are not available safely, women will turn to unsafe ways of procuring abortion."
She suggested a solution to the current crisis might be to increase the involvement of nurses in providing abortion.
Ann Furedi, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, which is a leading provider of abortions, said: "It is increasingly difficult to recruit doctors to abortion services.
"It is the case, that within five to seven years, a woman's ability to get an abortion will be more shaped by the service's ability to provide them rather than the state of the law."
She said doctors failed to realise how essential the abortion service was.
'Sensitivity'
But Josephine Quintavalle, of the anti-abortion group Alive and Kicking, said: "We welcome this development.
"There is a sensitivity in this country that there are too many abortions, and this obviously will impact on doctors.
"We should be working together to make abortions rare."
The Department of Health said it was aware a minority of NHS doctors chose to opt out of providing abortions, but added this did not prevent women obtaining a termination.
It added that a "stable" number of abortions was being performed each year, and that the number of terminations performed before the 10th week of pregnancy had increased from 51% in 2002 to 64%.
An increasing number of doctors are refusing to carry out abortions, leading to a crisis in NHS services, experts have warned
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says there has been a big rise in the number of doctors who are "conscientious objectors".
Around 190,000 abortions take place in England and Wales annually.
The NHS pays for four out of five - but half of these are carried out by private sector providers.
This is double the proportion performed in the private sector 10 years ago.
Abortion is legal in Britain up to 24 weeks, however it can occur later if doctors believe the baby has a severe disability or if the mother's life is at risk.
Experts say the decline in the number of NHS doctors willing to perform abortions has also declined because they are able to "pick and choose" the areas they train and specialise in - and very few opt to carry out terminations when they can choose other areas such as fertility medicine.
'Essential service'
Kate Guthrie, head of abortion services in Hull and a spokeswoman for the RCOG, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have always had conscientious objectors, but more doctors now are just wanting to something different and don't see abortion care as attractive."
But she said it was a necessary service.
"The Abortion Act came in because women were prepared to do anything rather than have unplanned pregnancies. Nothing has changed.
"If abortions are not available safely, women will turn to unsafe ways of procuring abortion."
She suggested a solution to the current crisis might be to increase the involvement of nurses in providing abortion.
Ann Furedi, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, which is a leading provider of abortions, said: "It is increasingly difficult to recruit doctors to abortion services.
"It is the case, that within five to seven years, a woman's ability to get an abortion will be more shaped by the service's ability to provide them rather than the state of the law."
She said doctors failed to realise how essential the abortion service was.
'Sensitivity'
But Josephine Quintavalle, of the anti-abortion group Alive and Kicking, said: "We welcome this development.
"There is a sensitivity in this country that there are too many abortions, and this obviously will impact on doctors.
"We should be working together to make abortions rare."
The Department of Health said it was aware a minority of NHS doctors chose to opt out of providing abortions, but added this did not prevent women obtaining a termination.
It added that a "stable" number of abortions was being performed each year, and that the number of terminations performed before the 10th week of pregnancy had increased from 51% in 2002 to 64%.
Josephine is laboring under the mistaken assumption that, with less doctors specializing in performing abortions, it means less abortions will take place. I agree with her that we should be working to make abortions rare, but not through limiting a woman's choice, nor by forcing women to pay out of pocket for a service which is available on the NHS.
