Labour and Conservative MPs have spoken up for a bid to “combat the socially destructive practice” of sex-selective abortion.
In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, the nine MPs say they cannot “sit idly by” as such abortions take place.
They were responding to a letter from academics who had criticised the pro-life plan and said that it “erodes women’s reproductive rights”.
Violence
Fiona Bruce is behind the move which would make sex-selective abortion explicitly illegal.
In their letter the MPs comment: “It is about the abortion of girls purely on the ground of their sex – the first form of violence against women and girls.”
They say: “For too long, confused interpretations of the 1967 Abortion Act have passed unchallenged”, adding: “We cannot sit idly by as a preference for sons results in selective abortion of daughters”.
Clear message
They also reject concerns that the ban would require ethnic profiling, saying this was “not true for female genital mutilation – a predominantly cultural practice – and need not be true for sex-selective abortion”.
Mary Glindon MP
Angie Bray MP
The MPs, who include Labour’s Mary Glindon and Conservative Angie Bray, concluded: “Our amendment to the Serious Crime Bill affords the Government an opportunity to combat the socially destructive practice of sex-selective abortion and sends a clear message about its illegality.”
So far 100 MPs have added their names to the amendment, which could come into law before the General Election in May.