In an emailed press release last week, Right to Life UK stated that it is calling on the government to open an “urgent inquiry” after Jonathan Lord, the medical director for one of the United Kingdom’s largest abortion businesses, allegedly used his position at the pro-abortion Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) to establish new guidance that may put pressure on Parliament to support extreme abortion initiatives.
According to the pro-life organization, Lord, the medical director for MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes International), used his position at RCOG to push for Parliament to support two pro-abortion amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill, which are about to be debated and possibly voted on by MPs.
The amendments aim to remove offenses from the Criminal Justice Bill that make it illegal for a woman to act “in relation to her own pregnancy” — a self-abortion. Changes to the law would apply throughout all 40 weeks of pregnancy, and would not exclude abortions carried out based solely on the gender of the baby.
RCOG said it will be publishing guidelines stating that medical professionals are under “no legal obligation” to report potentially illegal abortions to the police, claiming it is “never in the public interest” to investigate a patient suspected of having an illegal abortion.
“Dr Jonathan Lord, Medical Director of MSI Reproductive Choices, one of the largest abortion providers in the UK, has admitted that he is behind the guidance, chairing the group that drew it up,” said Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right to Life UK. “This is a clear conflict of interest since this guidance is essentially pushing for reduced legal oversight into an area in which he has a significant stake.”
She added: “We are calling on the government to undertake an urgent inquiry into RCOG and the clear conflict of interest in having the medical director of one of the largest abortion providers author and issue this guidance.”
This, said Right to Life UK, could reduce legal oversight of abortion, putting women at risk of coerced abortion and abuse.
“This guidance is also especially alarming in regard to instances of coerced abortions,” Robinson explained. “Illegal abortions can occur as a result of abuse, coercion or sex trafficking. This new guidance appears to create a presumption against disclosing information about illegal abortions to the police, and this could leave vulnerable women in these situations being denied the protection of the law.”
MSI Reproductive Choices, while still working under the title of Marie Stopes International, has been the center of much controversy, including that it was found to be paying bonuses to staff members for convincing women to have abortions.
