Doctors are severing their ties with the British Medical Association (BMA) after it backed the decriminalisation of abortion.
According to the Mail on Sunday, more than 20 doctors have announced that they will leave the union, with more expected to follow.
Dr Jessica Hudson, a neonatal doctor at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, told the newspaper that she could not reconcile the BMA’s new ‘extreme’ stance with her lifesaving work.
’Rights’
She said: “As a doctor who looks after babies from 23 weeks, I am really happy that the babies we look after have a complete right to life enshrined in law.
“We wouldn’t dream of withdrawing care from a baby in one of the incubators at our neonatal unit just because parents didn’t want it.
“Just because a baby is in a womb, rather than an incubator, I still believe that it deserves legal protection over its rights.”
Disappointment
Hospital consultant Dr Matthew Knight, who is also quitting the union, said he has “been concerned for some time that its agenda has been increasingly hijacked by people with more extreme views”.
And Dr Richard Loveless, a GP from Somerset, said he would cut ties with the BMA after 35 years of membership.
He added that he was “very disappointed” with the vote.
Decriminalisation
Last week, delegates at the BMA’s annual conference voted to campaign for the decriminalisation of abortion for any reason, up to 28 weeks.
Around two-thirds of attendees voted in favour of the change.
Dr Peter Saunders, CEO of the Christian Medical Fellowship, expressed his dissatisfaction with the BMA’s decision in an interview with The Christian Institute last week.
Dr Saunders has however confirmed that he will remain within the BMA, saying: “I believe it’s best to try and fight these battles from within”.
In Great Britain, abortions can generally take place up to 24 weeks or up to term if it is thought that the baby has a disability.
