The Bill clarifies the Abortion Act to make clear that abortion on gender grounds is illegal.

There is no consensus on the incidence of gender abortion in the UK. A recent Government report found no statistically significant discrepancy in gender ratios in the UK even when the data is broken down by ethnicity (the problem is thought to be worse in some ethnic minority communities). However, studies carries out by Oxford and Imperial College academics found evidence of gender ratio skewing which they thought may be attributable to gender abortion. Although the academics differ on the scale of the problem, there is an increasing body of first-hand testimony from UK resident women who say that they have obtained gender abortions in the UK, and are campaigning for Parliament to listen to them. Contact Jeena International for more details: http://www.jeenainternational.org/contact

Yes. The Bill supports the Government’s policy, which is that abortion for reasons of gender alone is illegal. The problem is that other major stakeholders interpret the law differently. The British Medical Association (BMA) have contradicted the Government’s policy, outlining cases in which they believe gender abortion to be permissible on mental health grounds. The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) which performs more than 60,000 abortions per year in the UK take still another view. In their literature, they claim that abortion for gender is not illegal. Neither can be required to abide by the Government’s policy. Clearly, urgent clarification is needed.

Above all, the Bill seeks to remove all doubt that gender selective abortion is not permissible in UK law. The Bill will also provide the Government with an opportunity to consider what help can be offered to women who are under pressure to abort on the grounds of gender.