Women could be ‘rushed’ into abortions under new proposals from the UK’s health watchdog, critics have warned.
NICE – the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – released the draft guidance on Friday in conjunction with the pro-abortion Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Pro-life organisations responded with dismay. One said the document was “a dream business plan for the abortion industry at the expense of vulnerable women”.
Counselling
NICE wants to speed up the process of women getting an abortion by:
– Not requiring them to have counselling;
– Encouraging women to self-refer for an abortion, instead of speaking to a doctor.
Paul Chrisp, a senior figure at NICE, claimed there would be “multiple benefits” to women.
Flawed
Head of Advocacy for Pro-life charity Life said: “NICE sweeps away the fact that some women do suffer mentally from abortions. At Life we have counselled thousands of women mentally scarred by abortion and many others who regret the choice of abortion.”
She added: “It is women in these vulnerable situations who NICE seem happy to put at risk for the sake of appearing to save money.
“It should remember that there is a huge cost to the NHS for women who suffer mental health issues.”
Reckless
Right to Life’s Clare McCarthy said the proposal will “rush women through the abortion process and provide less medical supervision and support for women”.
Describing it as a “reckless approach to healthcare”, she added that pushing people into an abortion “does nothing to address the problems these women already face”.
The Christian Institute has highlighted the stories of people whose lives have been deeply impacted by abortion.
Lynn Coles had an abortion at the age of 18 and recalled her “complete ignorance” about the procedure.Watch her story.
