abortionists against late-term abortions

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Apr 04, 2005

How's this for a switch? An "abortion provider" in favor of limiting abortions. From the U.K. Telegraph:

One of Britain's largest abortion clinics wants to cut the upper limit for terminations to 20 weeks because advances in medical science mean that the babies are "potentially viable".

Marie Stopes International, the largest provider of abortions outside the NHS, said yesterday it wants the controversial 24-week limit - the highest in Europe - to be cut by four weeks.

Dr Tim Black, chief executive of Marie Stopes International, which performs around 60,000 abortions each year, said: "Public opinion is in favour of abortion but falls off quite quickly when we get to 20 weeks because there is a perception that the foetus is potentially viable. We do feel that in light of medical developments the upper limit should come down."

My own suspicion is that ultrasound is more responsible for the shift in policy than medical developments affecting viability, but it's good news in any event: the first substantive (i.e., non-rhetorical) crack in the monolith I'm aware of. Let's pray it widens.