Abortion should be seen as merely a form of “birth control”, the head of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) has said.
Ann Furedi has been heavily criticised for the comments – which were made alongside the release of a new BPAS report. The report argued that women needed access to both abortion and contraception to control fertility.
It comes just weeks after the British Medical Association (BMA) backed the decriminalisation of abortion.
‘Deplorable’
When it comes to bad taste, this is unsurpassed.
Furedi said: “Family planning is contraception and abortion. Abortion is birth control that women need when their regular method lets them down.”
She also said that since the BMA’s decision, she cannot stop singing the 1970s disco song ‘Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now’.
Psychologist and author Dr Michael Scott slammed her comments as ‘deplorable’. “When it comes to bad taste, this is unsurpassed”, he said.
Speaking for pro-life charity Life, Mark Bhagwandin said: “Finally, an admission by the abortion industry that it sees abortion as birth control. It is an abhorrent and morally repugnant idea.”
Controversial
Furedi has a history of making highly controversial statements in favour of abortion.
In 2014, she said the practice “should be available as easily as contraception for women who need it”.
She also argued that it should be recognised as “a safe and necessary healthcare procedure that, usually, is no more complicated than many of the minor procedures carried out in general practice”.
…an abhorrent and morally repugnant idea.
24 weeks
In Great Britain, abortions can generally take place up to 24 weeks or up to term if it is thought that the baby has a disability. But BPAS have campaigned heavily to make it legal up to birth.
Last month, delegates at the BMA’s annual conference voted to campaign for the decriminalisation of abortion for any reason, up to 28 weeks.
Around two-thirds of attendees voted in favour of the change.
Decriminalisation
Dr Peter Saunders, CEO of the Christian Medical Fellowship, expressed his dissatisfaction with the BMA’s decision in an interview with The Christian Institute.
In total, there have been nearly 9 million abortions in Great Britain since the 1967 Act was passed.