A medical royal college in the UK has dropped a bombshell as MPs consider a bill to reduce the legal upper limit for abortions from 24 to 20 weeks.  In 1994, the Royal College of Psychiatrists held that the mental health risks of abortion were less than the risks of continuing an unwanted pregnancy.  In light of more recent research and medical evidence, the college has now altered its professional opinion.

Women may be at risk of mental health breakdowns if they have abortions, a medical royal college has warned. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says women should not be allowed to have an abortion until they are counselled on the possible risk to their mental health.
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More than 90% of the 200,000 terminations in Britain every year are believed to be carried out because doctors believe that continuing with the pregnancy would cause greater mental strain.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends updating abortion information leaflets to include details of the risks of depression. “Consent cannot be informed without the provision of adequate and appropriate information,” it says.

The College’s statement, posted here (pdf), comes in response to a request from the government committee reviewing the 1967 Abortion Act.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that a record number of abortions are being performed on women 20 or more weeks pregnant.

Almost 3,000 were carried out on women who were at least 20 weeks pregnant, according to the latest annual figures in England and Wales, representing a 44 per cent increase in less than a decade.

The vast majority were for "lifestyle" reasons; less than a quarter were because of a risk that the child would be born handicapped.

Recent research indicates that survival rates for babies born after 22 to 25 weeks gestation have risen to over 70 percent.

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