Top Surgeon tells court that junior doctors are 'cavalier' over abortions

Professor Stuart Campbell has fiercely attacked the Department of Health’s suppression of abortion statistics in a court hearing closing today, Tuesday, 2 June 2009.

Professor Stuart Campbell has fiercely attacked the Department of Health’s suppression of abortion statistics in a court hearing closing today, Tuesday, 2 June 2009. The Department is fighting attempts by the Information Commissioner and the Pro-Life Alliance to get resumed publication of the data.

Professor Campbell – the consultant obstetrician who became famous for producing the ‘Babies Dancing in the Womb’ photographs – told the Court that the government’s suppression of data was hampering abilities to protect women’s health and allowing junior doctors to get away with breaking the law.

“I do not trust the Department of Health” said Professor Campbell “I’m not convinced about their scrutiny and decisions”... “I know of no case where the Department of Health has questioned the legality of abortions.” He said “statistics are important, we need accurate figures”

When asked whether any competent doctor would carry out abortions carried out for abnormalities like cleft palate – something which the High Court viewed as unlawful in the 2004 Jepson case – Professor Campbell replied that there were “many non-competent doctors.” [These abortions] “can and do happen”. Many junior doctors he said are being ‘”pressurised by parents” and these doctors display a “cavalier attitude and would terminate for a cleft palate”.

Professor Campbell said abortions for “viable and non-fatal conditions [are] a matter for public concern” and the non availability of data to senior surgeons was undermining their ability to see upsurges in trends of miss-diagnosis and to ensure that the law is being respected.

“We can’t just leave it to the doctors” said Professor Campbell “we know they do stray [and] exposure gives a corrective effect”. His opinion was that “doctors will respond to reporting of data” and considered that “Fear of needing to justify termination ensures accurate diagnosis”

On the government’s concern that patients were worried about the confidentiality of the abortion data, Professor Campbell responded “I’ve never had a question from a patient about whether their abortion will be published or appear in statistical data.... Patients have total trust in the confidentiality of the system”

The former Home Office Minister, Anne Widdecombe, who is also a witness in the case, said the Government was seeing “to extend abortion law in practice thereby creating ‘abortion on demand’ and by-passing parliament.” She said that British pro-Life campaigners, the Pro-Life Alliance were “remarkably law-abiding.”

The Pro Life Alliance is being represented by Paul Diamond, Barrister.