The British Medical Association has voted on two important motions, including one supporting the provision of independent counseling for women considering an abortion that is separate from counseling directly from those that sell abortions.
Another motion which would have changed the BMA position on assisted suicide from ‘against’ to ‘neutral’ was not passed. This was an attempt to neutralize medical opposition to assisted suicide but has failed.
Life spokeswoman Anne Scanlan responded to the votes with praise.
“This is above all a victory for women. We are delighted that the BMA has supported the idea that women seeking abortion should be able to access counseling that is independent of abortion providers,” she said.
“As things stand, many people are rightly concerned that women are not receiving full or adequate support, or impartial counseling, in crisis pregnancy,” Scanlan continued. “Women who come to LIFE for post-abortion counseling often report that they were rushed through the abortion process without adequate time to consider their decision, or were not given complete and accurate information about possible consequences. We believe that this is a tragedy and that we can and must do much better. The rhetoric of choice becomes meaningless if women are being deprived of good information and genuine alternatives.”
“We realize that it is early days and that there are still possible practical problems to be addressed in how this proposal would be implemented. Nevertheless, it is a hopeful step and we look forward to the government and health authorities giving it full consideration, Scanlan continued.
