by Peter Saunders | pjsaunders.blogspot.com

Last Monday I took part in the BBC Panorama programme ‘The Great Abortion Divide’ (watch it on I-Player).

It was presented by Victoria Derbyshire (pictured) and produced by Elizabeth Byrne.

Although extremely controversial it has had very little coverage in the media with only the BBC, Guardian and Times (£) so far reporting on it.

The programme was billed as follows:

‘Abortion is more controversial than ever, with pro-life activists challenging pregnant women as they try to enter clinics. Doctors in most of the UK are signing off terminations on questionable mental health grounds, while in Northern Ireland women and doctors risk life in prison over abortion. So is our legislation hopelessly outdated?’

Victoria Derbyshire, in an article for the Times, (£) asked how it can be so easy to terminate a pregnancy in Croydon, but criminal to do so in Belfast.

This highlights the little known fact that abortion is still effectively illegal in Northern Ireland but there is a situation tantamount to abortion on demand in the rest of the UK where there were over 200,000 abortions last year, 98% on mental health grounds.

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