The baby would have to have a confirmed fatal abnormality or a significant risk of very severe disability.
John Harris, a member of the British Medical Association's ethical committee caused uproar among pro-life groups last week when he argued that there was little moral difference in aborting a foetus late on in a pregnancy and not resuscitating a handicapped baby that had just been born.
Current laws on abortion are left somewhat vague so that the final decisions rest with parents and doctors. "Up to 24 weeks, you can have a termination of pregnancy for psychological concerns for the mother," says Kate Harding, a consultant obstetrician at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London. The reason why 24 weeks was chosen was because, back in 1990 when the law concerning abortions was updated, this was defined as the borderline of viability for a foetus. Of the babies that are born alive at 24 weeks, around 30% will survive and a significant proportion of them will be severely handicapped.
After 24 weeks, the psychological concerns of the mother cannot normally be used as a reason for a termination. At this stage, it is all about the physical health of the baby or the mother and it is extremely rare: in 2002, there were only 110 abortions carried out after 24 weeks. "You would usually only need to do it for somebody who is only diagnosed late in the pregnancy, most abnormalities are diagnosed on or before the 20-week scan," says Harding. "It is also much more difficult for the parent to actually want a termination that late because these are always wanted pregnancies and the baby's already moving," she says.
Examples may be if the baby has developed in the womb with no brain, a condition known as anencephaly; or if the baby has an extra chromosome 18 or 13, known as Edward's syndrome and Patau's syndrome respectively. "These babies almost always die before they're born and, of the ones that survive birth, they rarely survive more than two or three months," says Harding. Fortunately, these sorts of conditions occur in less than one in 1,000 births.
According to law, a termination can be carried out under proper medical supervision at any stage up to the full term of the pregnancy, if there is significant risk of severe disability or foetal death. "A termination of pregnancy after 24 weeks usually involves giving the baby an injection, usually of potassium, into its heart so it dies before the procedure starts."
