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July 6, 2020, 5:15 PM EST update: This report has now been updated with the news that the UK Parliament delayed the decision.
LONDON, July 6, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — A decision on whether to permanently allow women to commit abortions at home by means of abortion pills has been delayed after the government promised to hold a public consultation on the question.
The Minister for Women, Victoria Atkins MP told the House of Commons that “the government considers the right way forward is to undertake a public consultation on whether to make permanent the current Covid-19 measure allowing for home use of early medical abortion pills up to ten weeks gestation for all eligible women.”
Atkins said that the current measures would be kept in place until the public consultation has concluded and a decision has been made.
Dame Diana Johnson, the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull North who tabled the amendment, subsequently withdrew the amendment and no vote was held on the issue.
A separate proposed amendment to decriminalise abortion by repealing sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act and thereby removing abortion from the criminal law, was not selected by the House of Commons Speaker for debate and so likewise was not included in the bill.
On March 30, the Westminster government authorized women in England to kill their preborn children at home by using pills for a chemical early abortion. A government spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said that the change was being made on a temporary basis only and is time-limited for two years, or until the coronavirus crisis is over. It was the third time the abortion law had changed in the space of a week; the government had first announced the change and then reversed the decision within 24 hours.
In May, UK police began investigations following the death of a 28-week-old unborn baby after the mother of the baby took abortions pills sent in the post by the UK's leading abortion group, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS).
This weekend, an undercover investigation by Christian Concern exposed that UK abortion providers sent pills to every member of a volunteer ‘mystery client’ group who all provided false details when ordering the deadly pills over the phone. One of the undercover volunteers reportedly gave a gestation date to abortion provider staff which meant she could only have begun the chemical abortion process after the ten-week legal limit. The volunteer then subsequently changed her story and lowered her gestational stage without being questioned by abortion provider staff.
Last week, a British court permitted a judicial review of the decision to allow home abortions during the coronavirus crisis after Christian Concern launched a legal challenge to the measure.
But, later in the week, the UK abortion lobby tabled an amendment to a domestic abuse bill currently going through Parliament which would permanently legalise do-it-yourself home abortions.
“If this amendment had passed vulnerable women would be exposed to a greater risk of coerced abortion,” said Alithea Williams political assistant for the Society for Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC).
“However, the announcement of a consultation on making the temporary home abortions regime permanent is very concerning. We have already seen ample evidence that this practise is impossible to regulate, and is not safe for women, especially the most vulnerable. A consultation will not lessen the dangers of DIY abortions,” she continued.
“We have too much experience of Government consultations on pro-life matters which result in little evidence that pro-life concerns have been heard. But we will continue to make our voices heard – lives are at stake,” Miss Williams concluded.