Government concedes defeat over anti-choice abortion counselling during debate

31 Oct 2012
One and a half years after Labour’s Diane Abbott MP vowed to oppose and defeat plans for anti-choice
abortion counselling, the government has finally conceded defeat, announcing it to Nadine Dorries live during a debate on upper legal limit for induced abortion

Labour’s shadow public health minister, Diane Abbott MP, has forced the government to concede defeat on proposals to introduce anti-choice counselling for women seeking to have an abortion.  One and a half years after the shadow public health minister first vowed to oppose and defeat the plans, and one year after the plans were heavily defeated in Parliament, the government has finally conceded defeat on
the issue.  Health Minister Anna Soubry announced that Nadine Dorries’s proposals had been scrapped, live during a debate on reducing the upper limit, in front of Nadine Dorries.

In response to the government scrapping the abortion consultation, Diane Abbott MP, said:

‘After 18 months of certainty, this rethink is right thing.  This is a victory for women, families and
pro-choice campaigners across the country.  The message that people have forced this government to listen to is that British women’s right to choose is here to stay.  I think it’s been a particularly tough period for those people who provide care and support for women seeking an abortion, who have repeatedly faced the most appalling attacks, smears and misinformation about their work in the media, and in Parliament.’

--ENDS—
For more information contact Gabe Trodd on 0207 219 4426 


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