The National Health Service and licenced abortion clinics offer pregnancy counselling. BBC Panorama’s investigation uncovered that some crisis pregnancy assistance centres in the United Kingdom provide women in need with inaccurate medical information and unethical abortion counselling.
BBC Panorama’s undercover investigation revealed that some crisis pregnancy assistance clinics in the United Kingdom provide inaccurate and unethical abortion counselling to women. The centres, which are typically registered nonprofits, are more likely to give assistance and counselling for unwanted pregnancies than to refer women for abortions.
The team called 57 of these clinics in the United Kingdom, masquerading as women seeking information about their options, including abortion. Thirty-four of the responses directed the reporter to the NHS website or to regulated abortion clinics. However, more than a third of the centres provided inaccurate medical information and/or unethical advice regarding abortion, including information relating the procedure to infertility and breast cancer that is not supported by the NHS.
Prominent obstetrician and head of an abortion clinic, Dr. Jonathan Lord, stated that women must make “educated decisions” based on “unbiased, high-quality information.” He continued, “These centres risk causing severe injury and damage to those individuals who are particularly vulnerable.”
The BBC team then conducted more investigation undercover. At the Crossroads Crisis Pregnancy Centre in Harrow, north-west London, an undercover reporter was warned that the abortion pill could cause depression and infertility. At the Tyneside Pregnancy Advisory Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, the advisor inquired what her children would think of her decision to have an abortion and offered her a pamphlet stating that “avoidance of children” was a psychological risk. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s Jo Holmes regarded the exchanges as unusual.
Ashleigh was informed over the phone that she could have an abortion on-site at Stanton Healthcare in Belfast, but when she arrived for her appointment, she was told she needed an ultrasound. Examination revealed that she was carrying twins, and upon seeing them on the screen, she stated, “I wiped my own jelly off and left the room.” An adviser informed Claire, who was surreptitiously filming for Panorama, about “post-abortive syndrome,” a terrible anxiety that “erodes your mental health” for six months to two years. She was also given pamphlets with gruesome photographs of aborted foetuses and information indicating that if she had an abortion, she could develop breast cancer.
Dr. Lord criticised the use of ultrasonography at crisis pregnancy guidance centres, stating, “Scans are a tool; they can be valuable in certain situations, but they can be quite intrusive in others.” Daniel Versluys of Stanton International justified their usage by stating, “The facts should not be concealed from women… As a result, the provision of a medical scan… is entirely appropriate and required for a woman to make an informed decision.”
In response to the BBC’s findings, the Charity Commission in England and Northern Ireland have also initiated investigations into Stanton Hospital.
An investigation by BBC Panorama has revealed evidence that some crisis pregnancy assistance centres in the United Kingdom provide inaccurate medical information and unethical abortion counselling. Rather of recommending women for abortions, the centres typically provide assistance and counselling for unexpected pregnancies. More than a third of the 57 centres contacted gave inaccurate information linking abortion to infertility and breast cancer, which is contrary to NHS policy. In addition, several of the centres provided women with biassed and prejudicial information during consultations in an attempt to dissuade them from having an abortion. Jonathan Lord, a prominent physician, stated that these facilities pose a risk of causing “severe injury and damage” to vulnerable individuals. In response to this research, the Charity Commissions of England and Northern Ireland have opened assessments of Stanton Healthcare. The investigation’s results will be broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer on February 27 at 20:30 GMT.
