UK IPPF Member Association fpa (Family Planning Association) has launched a campaign to protect the 24 week limit for abortion in Britain which is under threat. This campaign follows the 'Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill' that is passing through parliament currently and is being used by anti-abortion MPs and campaigners to try and cut the 24 week time limit of the Abortion Act to 20 weeks or lower.

fpa is sending out postcards by post and by email that people can send to their MP to show their support for the 24 week. There is also an online petition.

fpa opposes any cuts to the time limit, a view also supported by the Royal College of Nursing, The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, and Ante-natal Results and Choices.

Women needing an abortion between 20 and 24 weeks gestation are often in tragic and difficult circumstances. The most vulnerable women will be affected including those:

-whose baby has been diagnosed with a disability

-in personal crisis, (eg their partner may have left them)

-delayed by a health professional who doesn’t agree with abortion

-experiencing NHS delays

-who may not have known they were pregnant (especially menopausal or very young women)

-in denial of pregnancy

-women who face physical and/or mental abuse if they continue with their pregnancy

These women need time and support when faced with ending a pregnancy. If the time limit was cut at all the only result would be to overwhelm vulnerable women with extra pressure and stress and subject them to unjustifiably poor levels of health management, when what women actually need is time to make the right decision.

To find out more about the campaign visit fpa’s website at www.fpa.org.uk