In response to the new abortion commissioning guidance from NHS England, RCOG President Dr Ranee Thakar said:
“Abortion is an essential form of healthcare, accessed by one in three UK women in their lifetime. We welcome new Commissioning Guidance for local health systems, which makes important recommendations on ensuring abortion services are safe and accessible, and sustainable to meet future demand. This is not the case at the moment, with issues including inadequate surgical capacity and limited regional services having a significant impact on women being able to access the care they need. There is still work to be done to build capacity across abortion services, including ensuring adequate and sustainable provision of training, and we encourage NHSE and Government to continue to consider how to address these important issues.
“This guidance is timely, underlining the importance of safe and equitable access to abortion for all, as the Crime and Policing Bill makes its way through Parliament. We implore parliamentarians to support an amendment to decriminalise abortion, to ensure all women can access healthcare safely without threat of prosecution, and that healthcare professionals can do their jobs.”