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Browse documents by subject index term

• Conscientious objection and doctors' personal beliefs

  BMA continues to support doctors' rights to opt out of lawful but morally sensitive procedures.

• Abortion time limit, May 2008

  Briefing paper, May 2008, on the abortion time limit. It is the BMA’s view, based on the peer-reviewed published UK data, that there is no evidence of significant improvements in the survival of extremely preterm infants to support reducing the 24-week limit for legal abortion.

• Freedom of thought, conscience and religion

  This section of 'The impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on medical decision making' discusses Article 9 – Freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

• Abortion: First trimester abortion - a briefing paper by the BMA’s medical ethics committee

  There are motions at the 2007 Annual Representative Meeting calling on the BMA to support amendments to the Abortion Act 1967 in relation to first trimester abortions. The BMA’s medical ethics committee has considered this issue and this briefing paper summarises the main proposals for change and the views of the committee.

• Abortion - The law and ethics of abortion - BMA views

  BMA views on the law and ethics of abortion in the United Kingdom. The BMA recommends that doctors should not be encouraged to stretch practice to the boundaries of what is legally permissible.

• Abortion - First trimester abortions

  BMA position paper, August 2007, on abortions in the first trimester (up to around 13 weeks). The BMA is calling for the Abortion Act 1967 to be revised to ensure the safe administration of abortion in the first trimester.

• First trimester abortion - a briefing paper by the BMA’s medical ethics committee

  There are motions at the 2007 meeting calling on the BMA to support amendments to the Abortion Act 1967 in relation to first trimester abortions. The BMA’s medical ethics committee has considered this issue and this briefing paper summarises the main proposals for change and the views of the committee.

• Abortion time limits

  The aim of this briefing paper from the BMA's Medical Ethics Committee is to provide factual information for BMA members, policy makers and the wider public, in order to facilitate good quality, informed debate about abortion time limits.

• Background to the debate

  This section of the briefing paper 'Abortion time limits' discusses the law on abortion in England, Scotland and Wales and in Northern Ireland.

• Factors influencing views on abortion time limits

  This section of 'Abortion time limits' identifies some of the major factors that influence views on abortion time limits and aims to provide the reader with sufficient, accurate information to make an informed judgment - for example, the moral status of the fetus.

• International comparisons

  This section of 'Abortion time limits' compares abortion rates and legal permissibility of abortion in the UK with other countries.

• Some current proposals for law reform

  This section of the briefing paper 'Abortion time limits' discusses the wide range of different proposals for law reform which have been suggested.

• References

  This section of the briefing paper 'Abortion time limits' gives details of the references used.

• Acknowledgements

  This section of the briefing report 'Abortion time limits' gives the membership of the Medical Ethics Committee 2004-5, and acknowledgements to other organisaions

• The legal status of the fetus

  This section of the briefing paper 'Abortion time limits' discusses the fact that in UK law the fetus does not have any separate legal interests capable of being taken into account by a court.

• Fetal viability

  This section of the briefing paper 'Abortion time limits' discusses what is meant by viability, how gestational age is calculated, professional guidance and research evidence on survival following pre-term delivery.

• Fetal pain

  This section of the briefing paper 'Abortion time limits' discusses at what point a fetus experiences pain and public perceptions of fetal experiences.

• Diagnosing fetal abnormality

  This section of the briefing paper 'Abortion time limits' discusses prenatal screening and testing, the diagnosis of abnormality, the Abortion Act and the factors that can delay abortion for abnormality.

• Abortion statistics and trends

  This section of the briefing paper 'Abortion time limits' gives details of the statistics and trends in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

• Memorandum of evidence to the Science and Technology Committee Inquiry into the scientific developments relating to the Abortion Act 1967, August 2007

  The BMA's written evidence, August 2007, submitted to the Westminster Parliament's Science and Technology Select Committee as part of its inquiry into the scientific developments relating to the Abortion Act 1967.