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Written question asked by Edward Leigh (Conservative) on Wednesday, 21 October 2020, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 23 October 2020. It was answered by Helen Whately (Conservative) on Wednesday, 4 November 2020 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.


Abortion

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on second trimester abortion of the finding of the British Medical Journal article, Reconsidering fetal pain, published on 14 January 2020 that pain emerges around 18-20 weeks of gestation.

Answer

The Department does not set clinical practice. To support clinical practice, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has considered the issue of fetal pain and awareness in its guideline on ‘Fetal Awareness: Review of Research and Recommendations for Practice’, published in March 2010.

The Department has brought the article by Dr Stuart W G Derbyshire and John C Bockmann to the attention of the RCOG. It is for the RCOG to consider whether to revise the guidelines, having looked at the available evidence.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
106898
Session
2019-21
Subjects
Abortion Pain Foetuses
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk