A new survey has revealed that growing numbers of medical students are opposed to carrying out abortions, leading some pro-abortionists to fear that this will make it more difficult for women to get abortions in the future.
The study, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, found that almost a third of students would not perform an abortion for a ‘congenitally malformed’ baby after 24 weeks and a quarter would not perform an abortion for failed contraception before 24 weeks.
Abortion is currently allowed after 24 weeks if there is a “substantial risk” of the baby having a “serious handicap”, but this requirement has been interpreted to include even treatable conditions such as a cleft palate or a club foot. There have been almost 18,000 such abortions since 2002. Of these, 1,189 were aborted after 24 weeks.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has voiced concern about the "slow but growing problem of trainees opting out of training in the termination of pregnancy and is therefore concerned about the abortion service of the future".
Freedom of Conscience for Doctors
The survey also found that almost half of those interviewed believe that doctors should be allowed to refuse to perform any procedure to which they object on moral, cultural or religious grounds, such as prescribing contraception or treating someone who is drunk or high on drugs.
Current guidance by the General Medical Council, which regulates doctors, advises doctors to refer a patient to a colleague if they object to a certain procedure or treatment.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, said: “It is heartening that so many doctors respect freedom of conscience and that many do not want to terminate unborn children in the womb. We hope that the current freedom for doctors to opt out of certain procedures is retained, in order to prevent a religious bar to office from developing in the medical profession.”
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