Ministers admitted the possibility for the first time London – Arabstoday The UK government was urged on Friday to open an investigation after official statistical evidence was found to support concerns that sex-selective abortions are being carried out in Britain.Officials detected significant indicators that birth rates for genders vary noticeably according to where their mothers were born. A health minister confirmed that the incongruence in the rates of male and female births among mothers of certain nationalities may “fall outside of the range considered possible without intervention”.
As a result of an investigation by London’s Telegraph newspaper, the Crown Prosecution Service is considering criminal charges against doctors in three cases where undercover reporters filmed them offering women terminations based on gender.
Health minister Earl Howe disclosed the Government’s preliminary statistics in answer to a parliamentary question saying: “While the overall United Kingdom birth ratio is within normal limits, analysis of birth data for the calendar years from 2007 to 2011 has found the gender ratios at birth vary by mothers’ country of birth.”
He continued, “For the majority of groups, this variation is the result of small numbers of births and does not persist between years. However, for a very small number of countries of birth there are indications that birth ratios may differ from the UK as a whole and potentially fall outside of the range considered possible without intervention.”
Lord Howe said officials will continue to “monitor” the issue and analyse the data but rejected requests for data to be collected on the sex of unborn babies at the time of abortion, saying recording the gender of foetuses “raises ethical and clinical issues”.
A Department of Health spokesman said any abortion based on sex selection is “illegal and morally wrong. UK birth ratios are within normal limits,” he said, “However, we continue to closely monitor ratios and we are in the process of analysing preliminary data. If anyone has evidence of sex-selection abortions being performed in specific cases, we will refer them to the police to investigate.”
A study by Oxford University academics has previously found evidence that suggested Indian women giving birth in Britain were terminating more female than male unborn babies between 1990 and 2005. Abortions for non-medical reasons are legal until 24 weeks in the UK, however terminations on grounds of gender are illegal.