Leader Of Anglican Communion Criticizes 'Normalization' Of Abortion, Calls For Review Of British Law

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 25 Oct 2007 - 10:00 PDT

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Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, criticized what he said is an increasing "normalization" of abortion and called for a review of the United Kingdom's 1967 Abortion Act, BBC News reports (BBC News, 10/21).

Williams in an opinion piece in London's Observer wrote, "Recent discussion on making it simpler for women to administer abortion-inducing drugs at home underlines the growing belief that abortion is essentially a matter of individual decision and not the kind of major moral choice that should involve a sharing of perspective and judgment." He added, "Something has happened to our assumptions about the life of the unborn child."

According to Reuters, the archbishop did not directly call for further restrictions on access to abortion, but he criticized people who campaign for greater "fetal rights" but do not speak out about abortion (Reuters, 10/22). "The pregnant woman who smokes or drinks heavily is widely regarded as guilty of infringing the rights of her unborn child," Williams wrote, adding, "Yet at the same time, with no apparent sense of incongruity, there is discussion of the possibility of the liberty of the pregnant woman herself to perform the actions that will terminate a pregnancy" (BBC News, 10/21).

U.K. Law, Reaction
Currently, a woman in the United Kingdom can obtain an abortion up to 24 weeks' gestation, but the law requires consent from two physicians stating that the procedure is in the woman's best medical interest. Abortions are allowed after 24 weeks' gestation only in cases where the pregnant woman's life is in jeopardy or other severe cases. Some antiabortion advocates have said that the time limit should be reduced to 21 weeks' gestation because of advancements in perinatal care.

In addition, some antiabortion advocates have said women should be required to wait one week before undergoing an abortion. Members of Parliament in June voted 182-107 against a bill that would have required women to wait one week and receive counseling before undergoing the procedure (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/9).

According to Reuters, several bills seeking to tighten restrictions on abortion have been introduced in the U.K. Parliament in recent months (Reuters, 10/22). Evan Harris -- a member of the Liberal Democrat Party and a member of a parliamentary committee considering changes to the time limit -- said, "For most women facing the dilemma of an unwanted pregnancy, the decision about abortion is not 'normalized' or 'routine' as the archbishop claims in his remarks about so-called 'home' abortions early in pregnancy." Harris added, "For many women it is a difficult choice and the [Anglican] Church should offer support rather than trying to make abortions as difficult and inconvenient as possible" (BBC News, 10/21).

There were nearly 200,000 abortions in England and Wales in 2005, according to the U.K. Department of Health, and a recent survey by the Lancet reported that one-third of pregnancies in Europe end in abortion (Reuters, 10/22).

Williams' opinion piece in the Observer is available online.

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