A parliamentary battle to cut the time limit on abortions from its current level of 24 weeks is being prepared by MPs.


New technology has shed light on early foetal development
Campaigners plan to "hijack" the Government's forthcoming changes to the law on fertilisation and embryology to stage what would be the first full-scale Commons vote on lowering the legal limit for 17 years.

A leaked memo from Caroline Flint, the public health minister, has revealed that ministers are preparing to be confronted with the incendiary move.

In a letter to Tony Blair, John Prescott and Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, dated May 3, Miss Flint sets out her proposals to publish her draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill.

But she admits: "There is a possibility that some members may wish to use the opportunity presented by the draft Bill to discuss wider issues dealt with by the original legislation... and related topics of interest, notably abortion (under the Abortion Act 1967).

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"Provisional advice from the House authorities suggests that these topics could not simply be ruled out as a matter of scope."

Campaigners for a change to the abortion limit seized on Ms Flint's admission and vowed to begin a full-scale campaign for a Commons vote, which by tradition would see MPs deciding according to their conscience and not having to follow party orders.

Recent medical advances have led increasingly to the survival of babies born before 24 weeks, leading to claims that the limit should be cut to 21 or 20 weeks.

Ann Widdecombe, the Conservative MP and former Home Office minister, called the current rules "lunatic" and vowed: "We will not let this opportunity be missed. We will go for it and we will go hard and fast on it. I think it would be a major campaign and I would absolutely be there."

Another Tory, Ann Winterton, said: "What we want to see is a wide-ranging debate, because science has changed dramatically. Those images of the child 'walking' in the womb changed everything significantly. I don't believe in abortion for social reasons."

Michael Howard, the former Tory leader, whose call for a cut in the limit raised abortion as a general election issue in 2005, said: "I haven't changed my views, I do believe the limits should be reduced to 20 weeks and I would vote for that."

Campaigners will push to amend the Government's Bill to include a section on abortion, which would then be voted on. Whether such an amendment was allowed would be up to the Speaker, Michael Martin.

The last time a full Commons debate on the issue was held was in 1990, when the current level of 24 weeks was decided.

The images referred to by Ann Winterton were of a 12-week-old foetus stretching, kicking and apparently "walking" in its mother's womb, vividly illustrating the development and behaviour of the unborn child in the earliest stages of life.

The scans published three years ago by Professor Stuart Campbell, the obstetrician and ultrasound pioneer, reignited debate about the rights of foetuses, with pro-life campaigners arguing that even the smallest were far more advanced than scientists had realised.

In particular, debate focused on whether late abortions were being carried out on some foetuses which might have survived outside the womb.

Last year, more than 150 MPs signed an early-day motion calling for the Government to set up a committee to examine the scientific, medical and social changes relating to abortion, only for it to be rejected.

As those MPs prepare to debate the matter, a second image may also concern them. That is the picture of Amillia Taylor, the world's smallest surviving baby, who weighed less than 10 ounces and measured nine and a half inches when she was born in Florida last October, at less than 22 weeks.

Figures show that more than 1,200 babies are aborted in Britain each year between 22 and 24 weeks. Last week, a survey of more than 300 GPs by Pulse magazine found that more than half thought the limit should be reduced. One in five believe that it should be banned completely.

Nonetheless, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, along with the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing strongly oppose any reduction in the time limits.

Michaela Aston, of the charity Life, said: "We would welcome any review of abortion which would save unborn lives and safeguard women's health. We want to see a substantial reduction in the time limit, but what we don't want to see is any kind of liberalisation of laws for early abortion, such as abortion on demand, or limiting consent to one doctor."

Dr Ellie Lee, one of the authors of research last month on the reasons why women have late abortions, said many did not realise they were pregnant, especially if bleeding continued during their pregnancy or if they were taking the contraceptive pill.