Two new pro-life bills have been introduced in the U.K.’s House of Lords.
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) reported that Lord Daniel Moylan and Baroness Nuala O’Loan have each introduced a pro-life bill to the House of Lords. Both bills will receive their first reading in June.
Moylan’s “Complications from Abortions (Annual Report) Bill” aims to pressure the government to ensure transparency and accurate reporting of complications in relation to abortion procedures.
Complication rates in the U.K. may be significantly higher than officially reported, a 2023 government review revealed. A data analysis from statistics in England between 2017 and 2021 revealed that abortion providers reported a complication rate of 1.52 per 1,000 abortions, while hospital data showed a significantly higher complication rate of 4.06 per 1,000.
According to SPUC, the figure could be even higher since 1 in 17 at-home abortions (so-called “pills-by-post” abortions) result in an ambulance call.
The government review also found that abortion providers were often not updating records if complications occurred after women had left their facilities, especially when the attempt to kill the unborn child was done via abortion pills.
The bill from O’Loan seeks to protect babies born alive during abortions. The issue has become more relevant since abortion was completely decriminalized in the U.K. this year, allowing women to perform their own abortions using abortion pills up to the moment of birth. This could lead to more dangerous long-term abortions, with more babies being born alive accidentally.
In the Australian state of Victoria, 33 babies were born alive after late-term abortion attempts since the practice was decriminalized. In Queensland, 204 babies were reportedly born alive following failed abortions between 2005 and 2015.
A 2008 report showed that in the U.K., 66 babies were born alive after abortion attempts carried out by the National Health Service in a single year, with many surviving for more than an hour after birth.
SPUC notes that Private Member’s Bills such as those proposed by Moylan and O’Loan rarely become law, but they still serve the important function of raising awareness and sparking parliamentary debate on controversial issues.
SPUC CEO John Deighan commented on the matter, saying, “It’s a joy to see Lord Moylan and Baroness O’Loan standing up for the unborn against the terrible barrage in the last parliamentary session.”
“These Bills would not be necessary, however, if it were not for the dreadful pills-by-post scheme pushed by the careless pro-abortion ideologues in Parliament. SPUC will do all we can to help them get the recognition and traction they deserve, of course, but will not give up lobbying to end the dangerous scheme that has led to these moves in the first place,” Deighan concluded.