MPs reject abortion advice change

Nadine Dorries MP said : "I don't want to see a return to backstreet abortionists"

Tory MP Nadine Dorries wanted to stop abortion providers giving NHS-funded counselling to women.

She said it was about offering women more choice but was accused of trying to "import American sensationalism" to the abortion debate.

MPs rejected her call to offer women the "option" of independent counselling by 368 votes to 118, but there will be a consultation on improving services.

MPs did not have to follow party lines as abortion is considered an issue of conscience.

Labour MP Frank Field - who had backed Ms Dorries' original amendment - withdrew his support at the end of the debate after the government said it would consult on improving abortion counselling for women.

'Would not work'

Ms Dorries had proposed changing the statutory duties the NHS must provide to include "independent information, advice and counselling services for women requesting termination of pregnancy" - and had said private abortion providers should not be considered "independent".

But that was not put to the vote - instead it was on another of her amendments, proposing instead to offer women "the option of receiving independent" counselling and advice, that MPs voted.

Health Minister Anne Milton had urged Ms Dorries to withdraw her amendments.

Continue reading the main storyANALYSISNick TriggleHealth correspondent, BBC News

Abortion is one of those areas of health care where the NHS relies heavily on the independent sector.

More than half of all terminations are done by the main two providers - BPAS and Marie Stopes International.

Their services are regulated and they have to keep to official guidelines.

Counselling is provided by trained professionals independently of the clinics' doctors, but women do not have to take this up.

This reflects the fact that for some women their mind is already made up by the time they arrive at the doors of an abortion provider.

They may have discussed the decision at length with their GP and/or partner and so health professionals accept that they have reached a clear personal decision.

She said the government was "supportive of the spirit of these amendments" but that putting it in primary legislation was unnecessary and would "deprive Parliament of the opportunity to consider the detail of how this service would develop and evolve."

The Health and Social Care Bill, which MPs are debating, gives local government new public health functions, she said, including on abortion services and the government intended to ensure that "a part of what they commission is a choice of independent counselling".

She said defining "independent" was not simple and the government wanted to think through all the financial and legal implications first.

"We want counselling to be provided by appropriately qualified people who offer non judgmental therapeutic support and who act according to their professional judgement, without undue interference or regard to outside interests," she said.

Ms Dorries told the BBC later that she had "got what we wanted" as the government had now agreed to consult about abortion advice.

She said she had only pushed the issue to the vote because many MPs backing her had wanted to publicly declare their stance on the issue and the "spirit" of her amendment would be taken forward by the government.

War on abortion

Anti-abortion supporters recently staged their annual "march for life" in Washington DC Calls for abortion law reformIrish abortion rights challengedBrazil's women voters campaign to be heard Abortion has long been a lightning rod in American politics. Now, amid hidden video camera stings, bitter argument over the definition of rape, late-night satire and reinvigorated Republicans, the debate is heating up again.

For many years, the abortion debate in the US has remained in a kind of stasis. No compromise seemed possible and each side knew aggressive pushes would provoke an equally fierce response.

Aside from elections - where abortion is invoked to motivate each party's base and presidential candidates must proffer their Republican anti-abortion or Democratic pro-choice credentials to sate primary voters - the issue has rarely gathered steam in recent sessions of Congress.

Until now.

After offering an anti-abortion amendment that almost derailed the entire healthcare reform process last year, anti-abortion members appear emboldened.

Led by Republicans Mike Pence and Chris Smith, two abortion-related measures are headed to the House of Representatives, where Republicans now have sufficient votes to pass them without any support from Democrats.

Mr Pence is aiming to stop Planned Parenthood, a reproductive care organisation, receiving federal funds.

Planned Parenthood offers services including contraception, gynaecological and breast exams, and family planning, but is a favoured target for the anti-abortion lobby because it is America's leading provider of abortions.

It serves about 3 million women each year in its more than 800 clinics, and provided 324,008 abortions in 2008. The organisation says abortions account for only about 3% of its budget.

Anti-abortion activists have long had Planned Parenthood in their sights, keeping an almost constant vigil of protesters outside their clinics.

Their campaign to deny it federal funds has been aided recently by the release of several hidden camera videos showing a man posing as a pimp asking Planned Parenthood workers about services for under-age prostitutes.

Secret videos

Live Action, the anti-abortion group behind the videos, contends that they demonstrate the willingness of Planned Parenthood "to aid and abet in the sexual exploitation of minors and young women".