(u.k.)Plans to relax law on early abortion ("most extensive liberalisation for 40 years")

The Times (U.K.) ^ | October 25, 2007 | Greg Hurst,

[Stoat]

Plans to relax law on early abortion

 

 

 

Greg Hurst, Political Correspondent

 

The most extensive liberalisation of abortion laws for 40 years is being planned by MPs, The Times has learnt.

MPs will propose that women be allowed to seek an abortion on the basis of informed consent – dropping the requirement for two doctors’ signatures – and perform the second stage of a medical termination at home rather than at a hospital or clinic.

They also want nurses rather than doctors to be allowed to carry out abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy, up to 12 weeks. Anti-abortion MPs say privately that they may not have the numbers to oppose the moves. MPs will have a free vote on the changes, probably early next year.

The Commons Science and Technology Committee, which will consider changes to abortion law in a report next month, is likely to boost attempts to make abortions easier. The cross-party committee will not make firm recommendations but MPs said that the scientific and medical evidence pointed to the case for change.

Related Links

• Survival rates still not good enough

• Twins gives hope to women who cannot use IVF

• Life Choices

 

 

Members of the committee, which yesterday concluded an inquiry into abortion law, told The Times that changes to the two-doctor rule, nurses carrying out early abortions and home terminations appeared to be safe and in line with medical developments.

The report is likely to imply that research backs the current upper time limit for most abortions of 24 weeks’ gestation, and does not support a lower limit, as opponents of Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the independent health advisory body, to take over the task of publishing guidelines for practitioners and expectant mothers seeking a termination. This advice is produced currently by the Royal Col-abortion want. “Most babies born at 22 weeks do not survive. If they do, they are likely to have severe abnormalities. Most at 23 weeks will not survive,” one member of the committee said.The report is also likely to call for the National lege of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Antiabortion campaigners say its members have a vested interest in performing terminations.

[Stoat]

Please pray for Great Britain

[Stoat]

Ping

[DGHoodini]

The Brits have gone insane...They are exterminating themselves.

[agere_contra]

If “informed consent” means they have to look at the ultrasound of their baby, then this may for good. But I doubt it.

[TheBattman]

Satan is surely in charge in the UK...and I suspect here in the US as well.

Christ’s return can’t be far away...

[cpforlife.org]

Pro-Life PING

Please FreepMail me if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.

[Stoat]

If “informed consent” means they have to look at the ultrasound of their baby, then this may for good. But I doubt it.

Here in the USA "Informed Consent" is a standard medical legal term referring to the legal ability or lack thereof of a patient to give consent for healthcare treatment.  It restricts the ability of a person to give such consent if they are an underage minor or are mentally unfit.....such people are deemed unable to give consent because they are judged as being cognitively immature or impaired.  As an example, if a healthy-appearing seven year old child were to walk into a medical clinic and request a non-emergency, elective cosmetic surgery procedure to be performed upon them, their lack of rising to the status of being able to deliver informed consent would be one of the reasons why staff would be barred from performing such a procedure upon the child.  Another example could be seen in the case of an adult patient who is mentally altered due to a preexisting condition, drugs or alcohol who is in a life-threatening accident yet refuses emergency medical care.  Such a person is also deemed unfit to make an informed consent decision due to his altered mental status and care would proceed despite the patient's objections, under the legally supported premise that an unimpaired person would want his or her life to be saved.

From the article:

MPs will propose that women be allowed to seek an abortion on the basis of informed consent – dropping the requirement for two doctors’ signatures – and perform the second stage of a medical termination at home rather than at a hospital or clinic.

They also want nurses rather than doctors to be allowed to carry out abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy, up to 12 weeks.

Assuming that "Informed Consent" has a similar meaning in the UK legal arena as it does here in the USA, which I suspect it does, this would mean that an apparently-unimpaired woman of legal age would be able to get an abortion after seeing only a nurse.

Here in the USA, a person can become a Registered Nurse after a two-year College Nursing program, which would deliver an Associate college degree..

[Stoat]

Correction....the second example that I gave above involving the impaired accident victim would actually fall under the rules of “implied consent”, which refers to the understanding that an unimpaired person would want their life to be saved. A better example of an impaired adult falling under informed consent rules would be if that impaired adult were to walk into a clinic and request an elective procedure....such a person would be judged as being unable to understand the potential hazards of the procedure as explained to them by the healthcare provider, and as such would not be able to give informed consent.

Sorry for my error :-)

[narses]

Ping.

[Stoat]

Thank you very much for pinging your lists   :-)

 

 

[livius]

It restricts the ability of a person to give such consent if they are an underage minor or are mentally unfit.....

Well, not exactly. If they're a minor, they get the abortion anyway (unless they're very, very young - like your 7 yr old - in which case the court orders it) because these "clinics" do not notify the parents, regardless of the law. A huge number of the abortions they perform on minors are on girls who were impregnated by someone at least 12 years older than the girl (Mom's "boyfriend," etc.). And of course they never report it.

People in most parts of the US can get an abortion after seeing the receptionist. Forget the nurse.

[Stoat]

It restricts the ability of a person to give such consent if they are an underage minor or are mentally unfit.....

Well, not exactly.

I'm sorry that my post was apparently not presented in a manner that was sufficiently clear.  Taken in full and in context, it was intended to provide a definition of the medical-legal term informed consent in a general sense and in terms of the proposals set forth in the article, and for what it was intended to be, it remains correct..  I was not suggesting that the legal definition is what is always actually occurring in the real world and specifically in the matter of abortion, one of the most highly politicized medical arenas in existence,.  along with AIDS which has it's own special set of rules.  I had hoped to make the general nature of my response apparent by my use of examples which did not include abortion, and in fact were intentionally nonspecific so that the general sense of what I was saying would be adequately conveyed..  I'm hoping that everyone is fully aware that  not everything works out in practice the way it's originally intended to, particularly in matters that are highly politicized.
 

It restricts the ability of a person to give such consent if they are an underage minor or are mentally unfit.....

Well, not exactly.