Experts are warning the NHS is going to have an abortion crisis because there is not enough trained doctors.
An increase in the number of doctors who are "conscientious objectors" to abortion, .means that there will be a shortage in doctors trained to do abortions in the future, according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG).
The shortage may be because NHS doctors can "pick and choose" what areas they specialize in and very few want to carry out terminations when they can do other areas such as fertility medicine.
The RCOG says that if abortions aren’t available safely women will risk their health by getting unsafe ones.
Around 190, 000 abortions are preformed in England and Wales every year. The NHS pays for 4 out of 5 of them, although half are carried out privately. This is double the amount of abortions carried out in the private sector 10 years ago. A spokeswoman for the RCOG says more doctors want something different and abortion care is not seen as an attractive field to be in and for many the ethical issues are complex.
Abortions can be carried out until the 24th week of pregnancy in Britain, but if there is a risk to a mothers health they can be carried out later There have been arguments to lower the time women have to get an abortion. One of the reasons is that better technology means in the future babies who are able to survive premature birth will be nearer to the age of the fetus terminated.
Robyn Walker