Abortion to be reduced to 20 weeks

Legal murder - bingo (already!)

The current period is nothing to do with the anomaly scan.

You can terminate a pregnancy due to an anomaly at any stage in a pregnancy.

You have consentual sex Sara then you should be fully aware of the consequences. If you don't want to risk getting pregnant so much you will have an abortion... Don't have sex! Its not that hard...
Women's rights crap is a smoke screen hiding what's going on. Please understand I am not including rape or insest...

Why wouldn't you include rape or incest? Are babies born from rape or incest different in some way? People who take an anti-abortion stance while being happy to have exceptions in certain cases really are illogical.

And as for the 'women's rights crap' comment - where to begin?

For the avoidance of doubt I am completely pro-choice.

everyone's getting confused, surely. If there are problems at the anomaly scan then a termination can be carried out an any stage up to term, so the 'allowing some time after anomaly scan' is irrelevant. This is only about terminations not due to medical complications, so why would the anomaly scan matter? It's a question of viability only, and even though some units are resuscitating babies before 24 weeks the legal definition of viability is 24 weeks, so until this is changed I can't see how the time limits for termination can be changed. A baby born at 23 weeks is still classed as a miscarriage under law if it shows no signs of life, not a stillbirth. That's the issue.

Yes women should vote and own property. I'm not arguing against women's rights I just think it gets trotted out to stop debate in stopping legal murder. I don't see the difference in a baby in the womb or out of it.... yet its illegal to kill a new born. That doest make sense to me.

Yes, and there are quite long waiting lists in some areas, too. It's not as if you can do a test in week 8-9 then snap your fingers and have it done.

Surely it is as it is to allow a fee weeks after the anomaly scan. Rightly or wrongly, some terminations are carried out as a result of that. If its reduced to 20 weeks it gives women very little or no time after the scan to talk, decide, make the appointment. How would that work?

Orchids - 'women's rights crap is a smokescreen'? What is 'going on'?

Women's rights are NOT crap. They are vital and relevant. Do you not like being able to vote and own property? Are you a woman?

But rape and incest happen - so what do we do, do we make exceptions for them?

What about women and girls who don't receive good enough sex education to understand what's going on, or who're too scared to admit it to themselves? Don't they deserve help?

I would be less concerned about lowering the limit if we had brilliant sex education and good access for women to birth control - but I don't believe we do.

I think this move will end up discriminating against young girls, who may not yet even be very familiar with their cycle (you have to have a stunningly regular cycle to have known you're pregnant in a month without testing, I think), and who may be scared to come forward or not know how to get access to a test if they need one.

It's not government policy, it's just what the new women's minister thinks.

I don't know why but I had expected more posts to be not in favour of lowering the threshold?

I am 20 weeks pg at the moment and yes, my foetus is certainly a baby to me, as was DD. I had emotionally invested in them from before they were conceived.

BUT I totally support other women's right to an abortion up to 23 weeks. How I feel about my babies is not an indicator of what all other women should feel. I don't think that advances in medicine should diminish the rights of women, in fact the idea of that makes me feel quite angry.

I have been trying to think of the right way to put this and not sure if it will sound flippant on screen, but I honestly believe that a baby born to a mother who doesn't want it will not have a good start in life. The mother's life will probably take a negative turn as well. I fail to understand how laws forcing women to give birth to babies that they don't want could make a better life for anyone.

I agree with it. Totally and I am pro choice. The thought of aborting a baby (yes a baby) at 23 weeks who could have been born breathing, twitching, crying is just abhorrent.

You have consentual sex Sara then you should be fully aware of the consequences. If you don't want to risk getting pregnant so much you will have an abortion... Don't have sex! Its not that hard...
Women's rights crap is a smoke screen hiding what's going on. Please understand I am not including rape or insest...

We already allow abortion up to term where the baby is disabled or the mothers health is at serious risk. I believe this is appropriate.

If we allow it in these circumstances I struggle to understand why we don't allow it in any - it makes no logical sense rather the distinction exists to pacify those who don't really believe a woman's rights are sufficiently important

Gold plate.. what about the rights of the baby?

Def the law needs to be changed.. I find it discusting that they current law would allow one baby to be killed at 23 weeks then the next would be saved... oh but we mustn't refer to an aborted fetus as a baby must we...

TBH, in some cases I do. I know (and don't care) that that makes me a bad person.
TBH, I don't think you would find many doctors agreeing to terminate at term so it's a moot point.

Can you answer my question then rip?

Unpopular though Sassh;s opinion is, I agree with her.

I think 12 weeks is plenty. The idea that you could kill a baby at term legally is just reprehensible in my opinion. Sassh, do you think that mothers should be allowed to kill a baby shortly after delivery too? What is the difference?

I am pro-choice and in theory I agree with the reduction to 20 weeks, That is long enough to give the woman a reasonable period of time to decide whilst recognising that the longer she delays for whatever reason, the more of a lifeform she is carrying.
I would want a fast and efficient appeals system to make a judgement on individual cases too.

I think it should be on demand until term.

I look at abortion as being about the woman and her body, not the viability of what she is carrying.

I also believe women should not be forced to return to a clinic for the second part of a chemical abortion, there is no medical reason for it.

I know a lot of people do not agree with me.

i agree and would like to see it lower still except for cases where there are medical reasons. yes give women the choice but 5 months is too far in imo. my scans at 12wks were definately 'babies'.

How is it chipping away at womens rights? The woman still has the right. She has half of her pregnancy, nearly five months of choice.

This again? I don't agree - it is chipping away at women's rights