Professor Wendy Savage, president of the pro-abortion group Doctors for Choice UK, appears to have argued that because “babies die every week,” it was acceptable to “procure an abortion which led to the death of a baby.” In this case, she was referring to a baby that was aborted at a gestational age of at least 32 weeks, which was at least eight weeks after the 24-week time limit for abortions in the UK.
In a discussion of the case of Carla Foster on the LBC radio program, Professor Savage was questioned by host Iain Dale regarding the justifiability of Ms. Foster’s decision to terminate a pregnancy that could have survived if she had been born at the same gestational age at which she was aborted.
The former obstetrician, who has performed abortions herself, initially acknowledged that the termination of a pregnancy at a gestational age of at least 32 weeks resulted in the demise of a “baby.”
In a statement that has been described as “savage,” she then proceeded to ask, “How many babies die every week in this country?” Moreover, as has been demonstrated on numerous occasions, these maternity scandals illustrate that the care provided to women is not entirely optimal.
It appeared that she was suggesting that the death of a viable baby was somehow justifiable in light of the fact that babies die every week in the UK due to substandard pregnancy care.
Avid proponent of abortion for gender and abortion up to birth
This is not the first occasion on which Professor Savage has been the subject of public scrutiny due to her controversial opinions.
In 2017, she attracted considerable attention following an interview with The Mail on Sunday in which she expressed unreserved support for sex-selective abortion. She stated, “If a woman does not wish to carry a fetus of a particular sex, compelling her to do so is not conducive to the well-being of the child.” At the time, Professor Savage was a prominent member of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) medical ethics committee.
Moreover, it was disclosed that she was spearheading an initiative to persuade the BMA to adopt a position in favor of decriminalizing abortion.
In response to these revelations, an Early Day Motion was tabled by Members of Parliament (MPs) representing various political parties to express their “shock” at her calls to legalize sex-selective abortion, to make abortion available on demand up to birth, and to influence the British Medical Association (BMA) to adopt this stance.
Despite her assertion that her focus is on women, Savage dismissed the claim that sex-selective abortion, which predominantly targets female fetuses, is occurring in the UK as a “myth.” This ignores personal testimony from women who have been forced into sex-selective abortions in the UK by their partner or family.
Abortion providers shirking responsibility
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), the abortion provider responsible for providing Ms. Foster with the pills to end her pregnancy, is now cynically using this woman’s tragic experience of its abortion service to lobby the government and members of parliament to introduce abortion up to birth throughout the United Kingdom.
BPAS has been engaged in lobbying efforts to effect a change in the law, with the explicit goal of removing all gestational time limits for abortion. This stance was further reinforced by the organization’s former Chief Executive Officer, Ann Furedi, who, at the outset of the campaign to “decriminalize” abortion, asserted, “I want to be very, very clear and blunt…there should be no legal upper limit.”
“Savage and callous” remarks
In response to Professor Savage’s remarks, Right to Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson stated, “Professor Savage’s comments are truly savage and callous.” As the radio presenter repeatedly emphasized, the situation in question concerns a baby who would have survived had she been permitted to be born. These views are demonstrably at odds with the prevailing public opinion.
A poll conducted by Savanta ComRes of 2,008 British adults revealed that 70% of women believed that the current 24-week time limit should be reduced to 20 weeks or below. A mere 1% of the general public believed that abortion should be available up to birth.
The same poll also indicated that 91% of women and 89% of the general population concurred that gender-selective abortion should be explicitly prohibited by law.
“If inadequate prenatal and obstetric care is influencing women’s decisions to terminate pregnancies, this is a troubling indication of the state of our society.” The appropriate response is to enhance the quality of care for women, rather than to conclude that it is acceptable to terminate the lives of infants in these circumstances.
We are advocating for the reinstatement of in-person appointments before abortions are performed in order to ensure that the gestational age of the fetus can be accurately determined.
Furthermore, we call for a comprehensive investigation into the actions of the abortion provider, BPAS, which resulted in the distribution of abortion pills to a woman whose fetus, Lily, was 22 weeks beyond the legal limit for at-home abortions. The government must unequivocally reject any legislative changes that would make abortion legal up to birth, as is being proposed by abortion campaigners, led by BPAS, who are exploiting this tragic case to call for the removal of more abortion safeguards and to build momentum for their campaign to introduce abortion up to birth across the United Kingdom.
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
