UK INCREASES ACCESS TO ‘HUMAN PESTICIDE’ RU-486

Scotland Rejects Measure   LONDON, England, July 8, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Tony Blair’s Labour government has launched a pilot project to provide women at family planning clinics with the abortifacient Mifepristone RU-486 pill, known in pro-life circles as the “human pesticide.” The intention is “to reduce the time patients must wait to end pregnancies,” which in some parts of the country “can be as long as five weeks,” the Health department announced.  The program was reported in Sunday’s Observer newspaper. Pro-lifers predicted the reduction in waiting time means only that an unborn British child will have even less chance of survival from a mother’s “second thoughts” about aborting it. “The more it’s available, the less choice a woman has to say, ‘Hold on, I must think about this,’” said Nuala Scarisbrick of the group Life.  Michael Ancram, deputy leader of the Conservative Party, also condemned the change. “Personally I am against it because I think that anything that makes abortion easier and simpler, in the end is harmful to people,” he told Sky News.  But public health minister Hazel Blears said on BBC radio: “I really think we need to talk about trying to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, which is the whole thrust of the Government’s strategy here. … What is important is that women do have a choice. Up to nine weeks the medical route may well be easier, less traumatic for women to undertake. But is important that there are a range of options.”  In related news, the Scottish Executive confirmed yesterday that it does not intend to follow the Department of Health in England and Wales and extend availability of the abortion pill.  For news on Scotland from the Herald at:  https://www.theherald.co.uk/news/archive/8-7-19102-0-15-44.html   For UK Telegraph coverage see:  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/07/08/uabo.xml&sSheet=/portal/2002/07/08/ixport.html