Having an abortion is safer than having a baby, say UK docs

LONDON - Medical chiefs in Britain say pregnant women should be told that having an abortion is safer than having the baby.

The draft guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is for all doctors, nurses and counselors advising women contemplating terminations, reports the Telegraph.

Its first recommendation on “what women need to know” instructs health professionals: “Women should be advised that abortion is generally safer than continuing a pregnancy to term.”

The guidance also says that women who are deciding whether to have an abortion must be told that most do not suffer any psychological harm.

Until now, their advice has been that while rates of psychiatric illness and self-harm in women are higher among those who had an abortion, there was no evidence that termination itself was likely to trigger psychological problems.

While few dispute that terminations carry fewer physical risks to a woman than those of pregnancy, the impact of abortions on psychological health is highly contentious.

Never before has official advice to doctors and nurses in Britain instructed them to use such comparisons to help pregnant women decide whether to keep a child.

Current guidance simply tells doctors and nurses that they should “be equipped” to provide accurate information about the relative dangers.

However, the advice has caused anger, with anti-abortion campaigners accusing doctors’ leaders of forcing an “absurdly liberal agenda” on women in a vulnerable situation. (ANI)