MPs say abortion time limit should stay

By Tim Castle

LONDON (Reuters) - The 24-week limit on abortions should remain unchanged, an influential committee of MPs said on Wednesday, rejecting pleas by pro-life campaigners for it to be reduced.

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, in a report, said there was no scientific basis for lowering the cut-off period for legal abortions.

"The Committee concludes that while survival rates at 24 weeks ... and over have improved since 1990, survival rates (viability) have not done so below that gestational point," it said.

"The Committee concludes that there is no scientific basis -- on the grounds on viability -- to reduce the upper time limit."

The MPs backed moves to make it easier for women to obtain an abortion, supporting proposals to remove the existing requirement for signatures from two doctors to approve the procedure.

They said nurses and midwives should no longer be prevented by law from carrying out all the early stages of abortion.

And they said there were no safety grounds barring women from taking the second stage of early medical abortion at home.

The report is not binding but is likely to influence British debate on the contentious issue in the coming months.