Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Brit "service" arranges back-alley abortions

Making a Killing

Our disclosure ...of the links between the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) and a Spanish clinic practising illegal abortions arose from an investigation by this newspaper .... In July, Ann Furedi, the chief executive of BPAS, said: "We are able to provide women with details of clinics abroad where post-24-week abortions are permitted." In the case of Spain.... Abortion is indeed permitted by Spanish law up to full term where there is a "grave or serious threat to the physical or psychological wellbeing of the mother". But... "There is a loophole in the law . . . So if you have a normal pregnancy but still you want [an abortion], what we do is put on the paper that there was a gynaecological emergency." ..... The women who take advantage of the system established by BPAS are no doubt troubled, frightened and, in many cases, morally confused. But what BPAS advises them to do is illegal in Spain. Worse, it dehumanises the woman herself, reducing her to the status of a "client", steered cheerily towards late abortion as an easily available service rather than a horrendous last resort.... How ironic that those who campaigned most vigorously against back-street abortions have conspired to create a new, glossier but no less sinister marketplace of death.

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