Should nurses carry out abortions?

Let nurses carry out abortions, say experts - Telegraph

Extract:

"Backers of the change argue that early abortion is not surgery, does not need to be carried out by a doctor and that specialist nurses already undertake comparable procedures.

Vincent Argent, a consultant obstetrician at Addenbrooke's Cambridge University Teaching Hospital and Lin Pavey, of the Royal College of Nursing termination of pregnancy group, say specially-trained nurses could perform such procedures, without a doctor present. They also argue that the law which prevents nurses from carrying our surgical abortions has been misinterpreted.

But the pro-life charity Life said yesterday that such a change would trivialise abortion and make it easier to obtain."

24 weeks is too late for abortion says Stuart Campbell, a consultant at the Create Health Clinic and formerly head of obs and gynae at King's College

24 weeks is too late for abortion

Extract:

"Professor Stuart Campbell, a consultant at the Create Health Clinic and formerly head of obstetrics and gynaecology at King's College School of Medicine, says he no longer carries out late-term abortions because advances in neo-natal care have led to the survival of a rising number of babies born between 21 and 24 weeks.

"If the decision were mine I would immediately reduce the termination limit to 20 weeks," he said. "To me it seems utterly illogical that, in adjacent wards, one doctor is struggling to save a baby delivered at 23 weeks while another is aborting a healthy baby of the same age.""