Doctors call for easing of abortion laws

By Tim Castle

LONDON (Reuters) - Doctors have voted to press the government to ease restrictions on abortion, fuelling a debate over the issue that has been growing in Britain over recent months as the law allowing terminations marks its 40th year.

They voted 67 percent in favour of removing the requirement for women to get the signature of two doctors to approve their termination in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy.

The vote took place at the annual meeting of their professional body, the British Medical Association (BMA), in Torquay.

The aim is to make it much simpler for women to have abortions in the first three months -- which account for nine out of 10 terminations.

The proposal would make seeking an early abortion no different from requesting any other medical procedure, in line with practice in many other European countries.

The doctors added a rider that this relaxation should not adversely affect the availability of late abortions up to the current 24-week limit, which would still need two approvals.

This will now become official BMA policy and executives will lobby parliament and the government to adopt the change.

The BMA, which represents around 70 percent of doctors, was one of the major movers behind the government's smoke-free legislation and hopes its medical opinion on abortion will prove equally influential.