Why a modern feminist like Maria Miller should look at the facts before airing her views on abortion

If medical science allows a 22-week old foetus to be viable, perhaps the abortion limit should change. In the meantime, the minister should hold back on her lifestyle advice

Share
+More
Related Topics

How wonderful to have a feminist as Minister for Women! It’s a great comfort to know that Maria Miller has our interests at heart. She doesn’t want to reduce the abortion limit from 24 to 20 weeks because she disapproves  of abortion. Oh, no. She’s “driven by  the practical impact that late-term abortion has on women”.

And she says that advances in medical science allow more premature babies to survive. She’s even a “very modern feminist”.

Odd, that. You’d think a very modern feminist would take more care to look at the facts. For it turns out that advances in medical science have had no effect on babies’ survival rates below the legal limit of 24 weeks. A study in the British Medical Journal showed that, while many more babies are now surviving at 24 and 25 weeks, survival rates haven’t risen at all for those born at 23 weeks or less.

Moreover, these very premature babies have an extremely high risk of disability. Only 1 per cent of babies born at 22 weeks survive and 70 per cent of them are severely disabled. Of those born between 23 and 24 weeks, two-thirds have moderate or severe disabilities. By the time the baby is 25 or 26 weeks, it has only a one-third chance of being disabled.

So, from the point of view of the baby’s viability, the current 24-week limit looks just about right. What about the effect on the mother, though?

Few, given the choice, would have an abortion that late. It involves inducing a stillbirth and it must be distressing. These late abortions are very rare: they account for less than 2 per cent of the total. Some happen because babies have severe abnormalities that only show up on the 20-week scan. Reducing the limit to 20 weeks could force those mothers to carry the baby to term with the prospect of it dying at, or shortly after, birth, or living a horribly damaged and dependent life.

A look at the reasons given to BPAS, which carries out most of the UK’s late-term abortions, shows a heart-rending catalogue. There’s the 17-year-old who had three negative pregnancy tests. An 18-year-old had an early abortion, then a negative pregnancy test and a contraceptive implant. It turned out she was still pregnant. A 19-year-old had always had irregular periods and never had sex without a condom. By the time she realised she was pregnant, it took her three weeks to get a hospital appointment. I’m sure these abortions were traumatic – but nothing like as traumatic as being forced to give birth to an unwanted baby at a tender age.

When medical science advances enough to make a 22-week foetus genuinely viable, it may make sense to lower the abortion limit. Until then, it’s not for Maria Miller to decide whether individual women will suffer more from having an abortion or from giving birth. If very modern feminism means anything, it is that ministers should trust women to take decisions for themselves.

 

React Now

iJobs Job Widget
iJobs General

PHP/ Drupal Developer - £35k - WC

£30000 - £40000 per annum + BENS: Progressive Recruitment: Drupal Developer A ...

C# WEB DEVELOPER

£45000 - £50000 per annum + bens: Progressive Recruitment: C# WEB DEVELOPER Le...

WPF Developer (C#, VB.Net) - North East - 6 Months

£240 - £260 per day: Progressive Recruitment: WPF Developer (C#, VB.Net) North...

KS2 PPA teacher

£85 - £120 per day: Randstad Education Cheshire: KS2 teacher needed to do PPA ...

Day In a Page

Read Next
An auctioneer receives bids for Gerhard Richter's work 'Abstraktes Bild' during the Sotheby's London Evening Sale of Contemporary Art held at Sotheby's, New Bond Street, London.  

Arts funding is going, going – and if we don't think of alternatives, it will soon be gone

David Lister
 

Here is the perfect illustration of how a picture can change a book for you

Tom Sutcliffe
The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act

The price of pacifism

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.
'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.
Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in
The real thing? Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'

The real thing?

Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'
Gordon Ramsey's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

The pugnacious chef finally met a shambolic restaurant he couldn't save. John Walsh on when TV makover refuseniks fight back
Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Glamorous myth of the flight attendant lifestyle undermined by angry employee's claims of 'exploitation'
Braising saddles: Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it!

Braising saddles: How to cook horse meat

Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it! Will Coldwell hoofs it to the kitchen.
Why bitters are back on the bar: A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails

Why bitters are back on the bar

A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails. No wonder we're learning to love them again...
The 10 Best barbecues

The 10 Best barbecues

Whether you're cooking on gas or are a convert to charcoal we've got the perfect way to cook when the sun is out.
Style icon David Beckham calls time on his long retirement

Style icon calls time on his long retirement

David Beckham never disgraced himself but former England captain ceased to be a major player years ago. Remember him at his United peak
Steve Harper: My darkest times

Steve Harper: My darkest times

As the popular Newcastle goalkeeper bows out after 20 years at the club, he tells Martin Hardy about the private battle with depression that threatened his career
Sir Torquil Norman has designed a flat-pack OX truck for the developing world

The flat-pack truck with big ambitions

After making a fortune from Polly Pocket and a doll's house shaped like a teapot, the entrepreneur has turned his creativity to a transporter truck for the developing world. Simon Usborne meets him.