Midland MPs were divided over controversial proposals to outlaw abortion on the grounds of a foetus’s sex, which have been rejected by the House of Commons.
Proposed laws making it clear that it is illegal to have an abortion because of the sex of the potential child were backed by a number of MPs.
It follows newspaper reports suggesting some doctors at abortion clinics in the UK are willing to carry out abortions on the grounds of the sex of unborn babies.
Sex-selective abortion is believed to be a problem in some parts of the world such as India, where analysis of population data, such as a study by academics at the University of Toronto, suggests there are fewer girls in the population in parts of the country than would be expected.
Critics of the proposed law also opposed abortion on the grounds of sex, but claimed that specific legislation could lead to women being treated as criminals if they were pressured into seeking an abortion by family members, such as husbands who demanded a son.
Some critics also objected to the wording of the proposed legislation, which referred to the sex “of the unborn child”. This would be a step towards recognising the rights of an unborn child in law and could undermine laws allowing abortions to proceed at all, some critics said.
The proposed law was rejected by 292 votes to 201 in a Commons vote.
A number of academics from the universities of Birmingham and Warwick signed a letter to MPs urging them to vote against the legislation.
They said the proposed law “seeks to criminalise abortion more fundamentally by positing the fetus at the centre of any potential criminal cases.”
The letter continued: “Women need support and if there is coercion involved in any such cases of sex selective abortions, the existing Abortion Act sufficiently covers this area and requires strengthening with the support of social services.”
While MPs had a free vote on the issue, meaning they were not told how to vote by their parties, Labour Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper issued a statement urging her party to vote against the amendment and Conservative leader David Cameron also opposed it.
The legislation, a proposed amendment to the Government’s Serious Crime Bill, was backed by MPs including Cannock Chase MP Aidan Burley (Con), Stone MP Bill Cash (Con), Coventry South MP Jim Cunningham (Lab), Ludlow MP Philip Dunne (Con), Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid (Con), Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones (Con), Shewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski (Con), Dudley South MP Chris Kelly (Con), Mid Worcesterhire MP Sir Peter Luff (Con) and Redditch MP Karen Lumley (Con).
