Abortion time limits should be scaled back to just 22 weeks, down from the current 24, doctors have said.
In a letter to all MPs, the group of 700 doctors wrote medical advancements meant babies born at this time frame now had a good chance of survival.
The group, which includes senior NHS medics and GPs, said that a baby born at 23 weeks now had a 40 per cent chance of survival. This is up from around 20 per cent a decade ago.
Improving survival odds means there is a ‘long overdue’ need to reform abortion rules in England, according to the letter seen by The Telegraph.
‘A reduction in the upper time limit to 22 weeks would be appropriate now given further medical advancements that have led to significant further improvements in survival rates for babies who are born before the 24-week abortion limit,’ it reads.
Debate about abortion legislation in England follows the case of Carla Foster, who at 45, was given a 28-month jail sentence in 2023 for illegally taking abortion pills to end her pregnancy during the Covid lockdown
Babies born before 37 weeks are considered pre-term. Their odds of survival vary greatly depending just how early they are born but medical advances mean those born at 34 weeks and above now have the same chance at life as a baby born at full term
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities data show about 215,00 women had abortions in England and Wales in 2021, up about 2 per cent on the figure for 2020
It comes as two opposing groups of MPs are gearing up for a battle on abortion legislation in the House of Commons.
One amendment, tabled by Conservative MP Caroline Ansell, aligns with this group of medics in seeking to lower the abortion limit to 22 weeks.
It has been backed by 30 MPs including former business secretary Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, ex-home office minister Sir John Hayes and former health minister Maggie Throup.
Another, put forward by Labour’s Dame Diana Johnson, who is also the chair of the home affairs committee, seeks to decriminalise abortion after 24 weeks.
This wouldn’t change the 24-week legal limit for abortions but would stop women facing jail if they have terminations after this time, like in the case of Carla Foster.
Ms Foster, 45, was given a 28-month jail sentence in 2023 for illegally taking abortion pills to end her pregnancy during the Covid lockdown.
The mother-of-three was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant at the time.
Medics campaigning for the abortion limit to be dropped to 22 weeks claim their call has precedent.
They cited how in 1990 abortion limits were reduced from 28 weeks to the current 24 in recognition of similar medical advancements at the time that boosted premature babies’ survival rates.
The doctors also argued that the UK was out of step with the rest of Europe, with the average abortion limit across the continent just 12 weeks, such as in Germany, Italy and Ireland.
Therefore, their proposed 22 week limit only represented a ‘moderate change’, they said.
However, while many European nations have stricter abortion time limits many countries also allow abortions on demand, meaning a woman doesn’t need a reason to request a termination.
In contrast, abortions in the UK are only permitted under health and economic grounds, such as being unable to afford to care for a child.
Similar to the UK, abortions limits in Europe can be waived in certain circumstances like if continuing the pregnancy would endanger the life of the woman.
Writing in a separate opinion piece, Ms Ansell cited a poll which found 60 per cent of Brits, and 70 per cent of women specifically, supported reducing abortion limits to just 20 weeks, two less than her proposed amendment.
Ms Ansell added the current limit of 24 weeks was leading to a situation where premature babies born around this time were being treated while abortions on similar-aged foetuses were being carried out.
She added how, in her opinion, foetuses at this stage of their development were essentially people.
‘These babies are unquestionably human: according to the NHS website, at 12 weeks, the unborn baby is “fully formed”; by 18 weeks, babies can begin to respond to loud noises from the outside world.
‘By 22 weeks, they enter a pattern of sleeping and waking, and by 23 weeks they are practising breathing movements to prepare for life outside the womb.
‘And yet in 2021, the most recent year for which we have full records, 755 abortions of babies at 22 or 23 weeks gestation were performed under ground C of the statutory grounds under which abortions are permitted, for which there is currently a 24-week time limit.’
One amendment, tabled by Conservative MP Caroline Ansell, seeks to lower the abortion time limit from the current 24 weeks to 22
Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson (pictured) will bring an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill to exempt women from prosecution if they have an abortion outside the limits
Access to abortion varies around the world with some countries allowing full access though gestational limits still apply. Others only allow abortions on medical grounds or forbid it entirely. The UK is considered a European outlier, only allowing abortions on both health as and economic grounds whereas most of its neighbours are more flexible. Abortion access in the US has undergone a radical shift recently and now varies greatly on a state-by-state level
Such abortions account for a tiny fraction of the total carried out that year, about 0.35 per cent of the 214,256 terminations carried out in 2021.
While medical advancements mean premature babies, those born before being fully developed at 37 weeks, have much greater odd of surviving, this is by no means certain.
Pregnancy and baby loss charity Tommy’s estimate babies born at less than 22 weeks have almost zero chance of survival.
This rises to 10 per cent at 22 weeks, 60 per cent at 24 weeks, 89 per cent at 27 weeks and 95 per cent at 31 weeks.
Medical advances mean babies born at 34 weeks and above have essentially no difference in survival compared to those born at full term.
Current rules mean pregnant women can legally request an abortion in the UK until 24 weeks pregnant, but it is up to medics if it is granted.
Under the 1967 Abortion Act terminations are granted on grounds of physical or mental health as well as for financial reasons, such as being unable to afford to care for a child.
There is no access to abortion on demand in the UK. A woman cannot terminate a pregnancy without cause, she must have reason.
Abortions can still legally be carried out after the 24-week limit but only under very strict circumstances.
These include the mother’s life being at risk from the pregnancy or if the child would be born with a severe disability.
Before 10 weeks abortions can be carried at home using medication, after this period the procedure needs to be conducted in a specialised clinic.
At these clinics, most abortion services perform an ultrasound scan to work out how many weeks pregnant an expectant mother is.
The length of pregnancy is calculated from the first day of a woman’s last period.
