LONDON — The leader of the Royal College of Midwives in the U.K. has joined an effort by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) to call for the legalization of abortion up to birth.
It is currently illegal to perform abortions after 24 weeks in the nation, unless for the life and health of the mother. Groups such as BPAS, the largest abortion provider in the U.K., have recently called for the prohibition to be removed.
Cathy Warwick, serves as the chairman of the board of trustees of BPAS, and is also the chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives. She released a statement earlier this year expressing the Royal College’s “full support” of the effort, which has now raised concern among pro-life midwives who state that Warwick does not speak for them. The organization has over 30,000 members.
“I along with colleagues in other organizations and women’s groups call on the government to remove this legislation and to bring the U.K. in line with the many other countries around the world that have already done this,” she stated. “This is Victorian legislation that should already have been relegated to history, yet it is still deeply affecting women in the 21st century.”
Last week, Warwick released a position paper on the matter on behalf of the Royal College, stating that “the continued criminalization of abortion in the U.K. may drive women to access abortion services which are neither safe nor legal, and which may prove harmful or even fatal.” Warwick believes that abortion should be legal, and simply regulated like other medical procedures.
The development sparked the group Christian Concern to launch a petition calling upon Warwick to retract her statements and support for the legalization of abortion. Continue Reading
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