Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has called for "urgent” guidelines to be issued to doctors after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) refused to prosecute two doctors who agreed to allow abortions on the basis of babies’ gender.
Last month, the Director of Public Prosecutions issued a statement claiming that the law did not expressly prohibit abortions based on a child’s gender and that the decision not to prosecute “was the right decision on the facts of these cases."
Following the statement, Mr Hunt wrote to Attorney General Dominic Grieve asking for urgent clarification on the issue of gender selection abortions.
“Problem”
A source close to the health secretary said that the issue “crossed political lines with Labour and Conservatives politicians saying this was a problem. The guidance from the attorney general's office was that the guidelines need to be clearer. That is what the letter is seeking to do.”
The Department of Health has announced that it will now work with the General Medical Council, the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to “provide urgent guidance to doctors”.
Source:
Related stories:
Abortion Act "not worth the paper it's written on"
50 MPs call for review of CPS decision on sex selection abortions
CPS accused of double standards following ruling on sex selection abortions
Shadow Attorney General calls for review of CPS decision not to prosecute
Doctors who organised sex selection abortions won't be prosecuted, says CPS